Euphoria
by Wendy McCalister
Summary: She could see the desire pooling in his emerald orbs as he looked straight into her eyes and in a voice, low and husky, said simply, "I want you."
1. Chapter 1

**Euphoria**

 **Summary:** She could see the desire pooling in his emerald orbs as he looked straight into her eyes and in a voice, low and husky, said simply, "I want you."

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

 **Chapter 1**

"So all we have to do is retrieve the mirror?"

Koenma looked up from his stack of paperwork to peer at the fox demon before him. He sucked on his pacifier before nodding his head. "Yes," he answered, "and please hurry."

Yusuke sported a slightly peeved look on his countenance. "I don't get why everytime you lose something from the vault you keep coming to us for help. Seriously, we don't even get paid for this."

"Because you're the Spirit Detectives and this is your job," Koenma countered, shooting a death glare his way. Yusuke snorted and rolled his eyes but said nothing.

"How did the demon break in and managed to steal the Mirror of Darkness in the first place, anyway?" Kuwabara chimed in.

"How should I know?" Koenma responded with a huff and leaned back in his chair. "Enough with the irrelevant questions. Will you just get the job done?"

Kuwabara pursed his lips and mumbled something about Koenma waking up at the wrong side of the bed before following Kurama's actions as the fox gave a slight bow to the Reikai prince.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. Just don't get your ass spanked by daddy while we're gone," Yusuke added with a sneer before waving a hand at Koenma, ignoring the string of curses he earned in return.

The trio, excluding Hiei, then turned and left the office.

* * *

"Shit!" Yusuke cursed savagely under his breath as he shot another group of demons with the Spirit Gun. "Didn't Koenma say something about having to fight only _one_ demon? He didn't say anything about this! Talk about a load of bullshit.

Kuwabara swung his Spirit Sword over a green demon's head and brought it down, watching as its body ripped apart in two before averting his gaze to Yusuke. "Will you shut up and just fight, Urameshi? It's already hard enough to deal with these guys, I don't need to listen to your incessant blabbering!"

A glare was the response he got from the delinquent. "You shut up!" he spat. "I didn't sign up for this, and just when it's finally summer vacation, too!"

"Yeah, well, I wasn't looking forward to this either!" Kuwabara shouted back, and soon, the two were engaged in a mouth-war that seemed more important than the bunch of demons cornering them against a cliff.

Kurama sighed as he snapped a demon's head in half with his Rose Whip, his patience growing thin as the duo continued to bicker back and forth with each other. They had found the mirror in a quiet room, with no opponent around, and Kuwabara had suggested just taking it off from the wall it was hanging from and going up and leave. The fox had opposed the idea, saying that the situation itself was suspicious, but considering it had been Yusuke and Kuwabara he'd been arguing with, the two were just reckless and impatient enough to do just that. Now, they had walked right into the blatant trap and he was stuck with his teammates who were busy fighting amongst themselves than their opponents. And Hiei was nowhere to assist them, either.

"Where's Hiei when we need him, anyway?" Kuwabara started with an indignant cry as he pushed one of the demons off the cliff.

"He's busy running an errand for Mukuro," Kurama retorted with a half smile.

"Heh." Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Talk about a let down. He gets a girlfriend and does everything she asks him to and leaves his friends behind."

"Wait, Hiei and Mukuro share that kind of relationship?" Kuwabara asked, attention momentarily diverted to the conversation at hand.

Yusuke nodded, a grin slowly appearing on his face. "Yeah, _that_ kind of relationship."

"Wow, shrimp's lovesick!" Kuwabara said with a loud laugh, tears evident at the back of his eyes now, Yusuke joining in the laughter.

Kurama heaved another sigh and went to remind the other two that they were in the middle of a fight, only to cut himself short as he felt a sharp, pricking pain at the back of his throat. _What? But I didn't even sense anything!_ Almost immediately, he could feel something surge through every cell of his being; the torment almost too unbearable that he felled on his knees. His eyes grew wide as he felt a familiar heat in the pit of his stomach, body shivering and breathing growing heavy. Yusuke and Kuwabara were by his side, saying something, their mouth moving but he couldn't hear any of their words.

His ears were buzzing and his vision a blur, he barely noticed it them calling out his name as his face felled to the ground, the darkness slowly eating away at his consciousness.

* * *

Botan had rushed in as fast as she could the moment she heard the news of Kurama fainting during a mission. Koenma watched as she walked up to them, breathy pants leaving her as if she'd been running for a long time. Yusuke and Kuwabara were sitting on the bench outside Reikai's medical room with solemn looks on their faces and Botan, noticing this, asked them what was wrong, but they merely shook their head. She furrowed her brows but said nothing more, deciding to let it go for now as her mind wandered back to Kurama.

"H-How…" The ferry girl inhaled a deep breath, "How is he?" she inquired softly, her pools of amethyst in deep concern. Koenma gave her a smile.

"Fine, for now," he answered, before cutting himself short with a pause. His smile faltered, reducing to a thin line as his expression turned serious and he went on, "But, the drug he was injected with is really strong and conceivable. We already managed to get some of it out, but there's more in his blood."

Botan's brows knitted together in a frown, her eyes wide and fearful as she asked, "A-And? Is Kurama going to be okay or not?"

Koenma shook his head, but then nodded. "Well, his safety is protected for now, I can assure you that. But, that's not the point." He sighed. "When he wakes up, there is no guarantee that he wouldn't be under the influence of the drug… and if- if he is, it's best you keep your distance from him."

"What?" came Botan's baffled response. "What does that mean? Just me?" she asked, earning a small, mute nod in return. Her frown deepened. "Why?"

The Reikai prince seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if he was uncertain whether he should tell her. But then, he said, anyway, "He can't be near women right now."

"And why not?"

Koenma looked uncomfortable, as if he was talking about something he shouldn't. Botan stared at him, anticipating an thorough explanation of what was going on. The longer he remained silent, the deeper the gaze got, until finally Koenma couldn't take it anymore and heaved an almost exasperated sigh. His eyebrow twitched for a moment as he mused over the correct words to elaborate the gravity of the situation. But, after a while, he decided to just go out on a limb.

"Kurama's currently drugged by an aphrodisiac," he paused, watching as Botan's eyes grew wide and a pink tinge colored her cheeks, "It's from a flower of some sort. We meant to ask him what it was, but he's unconscious right now, so that's obviously out of the question." He momentarily gave out a light shrug of his shoulder. "So we went to someone who's also an expert in drugs and herbs."

"And?" Botan prodded, almost impatient.

Koenma parted his lips and made to say more, but his words died in his throat as Yusuke suddenly let out a curse.

"This is our fault," he murmured, his voice dripping with deep remorse. He looked down to his hands, and seemed frustrated at himself. "We were too busy goofing off and we didn't notice something happened to him until he was lying on all fours on the ground."

"Stop that, Yusuke," Koenma lightly scolded, though his hazel orbs were reassuring, "There's no need for you two to blame yourselves. What's done has been done. Nothing can change that. No use crying over spilt milk." He paused, but then went on, "And besides, Kurama himself didn't sense anything. And he'd been on his guard the entire time, so this really isn't any of you guys' fault."

"Maybe," Kuwabara said, his voice almost inaudible, "but I just wish we can do something for him, you know?"

"There's nothing you can do for him right now but to be patient and pray that all ends well," Koenma replied with a soft sigh. "I understand how you feel, but what do you think Kurama would feel if he saw you guys moping around like you are right now?""

"Yeah!" Botan's voice chimed in, startling the guys. "Cheer up! I'm sure Kurama's going to be alright. None of this is your fault, the important thing is to be with him during his time of need. I'm certain that's all Kurama wants right now," she finished with a smile, hoping to get her friends' spirits up.

Yusuke hesitated for a moment, but then permitted the slightest smile to graze his lips. "Yeah." He nodded. "You're right."

Kuwabara gave the ferry girl an appreciative grin, the quirk on his lips spreading from ear to ear. "Thanks, Bo," he said, and Botan's smile widened ever so slightly, before she then turned her gaze to Koenma.

"Can I see him?" she asked, voice fearful, as if she was afraid Koenma would say no.

The Reikai prince frowned. "I don't know…" he mumbled his answer, voice evidently unsure. He felt a slight twinge of guilt as Botan's face crestfallen. "He may be unconscious now, but I fret that something might happen if he wakes up."

"Relax, pacifier breath," Yusuke chimed in, seeming to return to his old self and procceeded to ignore Koenma glaring daggers at him as he went on, "He's not awake right now, so there's no harm in letting her in."

One of Koenma's eyebrows seemed to twitch. "I know that, fool!" he hissed. "But, what if he _does_ wake up?" he persisted.

Yusuke seemed equally frustrated. "Yeah, but Botan's his friend, too!" he argued, his voice slightly rising up a notch. "What's wrong with letting her see him?"

"Nothing!" Koenma roared back, a vein popping dangerously at the side of his head. "It's just that- that-" He paused, and briefly sounded a gulp. Red crept up his neck and cheeks, then, in a low, almost inaudible whisper, he murmured, "What if he ends up having sex with her?"

A frown was now embedded on Yusuke's forehead, slightly marring his features. He opened his mouth and went to make a smart remark, but was cut short as Kuwabara's voice sounded,

"Hey" The carrot top seemed to consider something. "I just thought of this, but," He looked up to peer at the other three, "isn't it a good thing if she does?"

"What?!" Yusuke's and Koenma's loud, ear-piercing screech reverberated in the air, rattling the walls. Kuwabara flinched a little. Botan's eyes grew broad, blood immediately rushing to her face, turning it dark scarlet.

"Are you crazy, Kuwabara?" Yusuke nearly shouted, his expression incredulous as he studied his best friend, almost as if searching for signs that his earlier statement was merely a joke. "Botan's not a sex toy for him to use everytime he feels the urge to bone someone!"

"I agree with Yusuke," Koenma nodded his head, "There's no way we're gonna let that happen. Reigens aren't allowed to engage in sexual intercourse with demons. It is against Reikai's laws. If they get caught, Kurama will get thrown into Reikai prison and Botan will be fired and banished from Reikai."

Kuwabara seemed to hesitate a little as the Reikai prince's words sunk in. But then, he shook his head, as if in disaggreement. "I get that," he started, "but isn't it better if Kurama has sex with her than a female we don't know? Botan's his friend; she's a better option."

Koenma furrowed his brows, but seemed to nod his head. "I can understand where you're coming from, but isn't it too dangerous?"

"Y-Yeah," Botan agreed, her words coming out in a cute, little sputter, the blush never gone from her cheeks, "I mean, are you sure Kurama will be happy with that? I don't think he'll be pleased."

"Yeah, but," Kuwabara continued, "Botan, you don't understand."

Botan's flushed face finally returned to its normal color as the oddity behind Kuwabara's words caused her to frown in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Kurama needs to have sex with someone."

"W-Why?"

"Because, Botan," Kuwabara turned his head away for a second, seeming uncomfortale for some reason, but then, looked back at her, "if he doesn't have an orgasm within a day, the symptoms of the poison will appear."

The ferry girl tensed up. "Poison? What poison? What's gonna happen to him?"

His eyes looking straight into hers, the words that left Kuwabara's lips seemed to spell an impending doom as they reached her ears:

"He could die."


	2. Chapter 2

**Euphoria**

 **Summary:** She could see the desire pooling in his emerald orbs as he looked straight into her eyes and in a voice, low and husky, said simply, "I want you."

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

 **Chapter 2**

Botan stepped in the ward with slightly shaky legs, her trembling mouth parting to allow the softest sigh to escape into the cold air. Walking over to the bed, the ferry girl studied the fox demon that laid there. With his eyes closed, Botan couldn't help but notice how long and pretty his eyelashes were. Kurama's chest moved up and down in sync with his steady breathing, and she stared at the silky red locks spread around his head like a halo. For a moment, she reached a hand to touch him, only to halt mid-way in her movements. Letting her fingers hover merely an inch from his face, Botan then pulled away and let it drop to her lap. The conversation she had with Koenma and the others earlier still dwelled in her mind, and she couldn't help but feel a little… off.

It wouldn't be an overstatement to say she was, even in the slightest bit, attracted to the fox. After all, with his features – his pointed chin, fair skin, rounded cheeks, full, soft lips and those vibrant emerald irises – who wouldn't? The attraction grew deeper throughout the years as she got to know him better, to the point it had even blossomed into, dare she say it, _love_. But, to say that she would go as far as sleeping with him… wasn't… entirely true. She would admit that she'd dreamt of touching him in such an intimate way before, only containing her desires due to the fact that they were merely friends and that he would never want her, but to have sex with him when she knew he'd be under the influence of the aphrodisiac… was a bit hurtful and disappointing. If they were to make love, Botan thought it would be more romantic than… sexual. But, she knew she had no choice. Kuwabara was right. It was better if _she_ did it, rather than a complete stranger. And even though such actions were forbidden according to Reikai's laws, Botan was certain that Koenma would undoubtedly back her up and convince his father not to punish them.

But, would it really be alright? Would Kurama hate her for sleeping with him under these circumstances? The image of his lips tugged down into an angry, thin line, his green eyes dark, reflecting nothing but disgust with her came into mind, and she shivered. _No, I can't think like that. If I don't do this, I might be risking his life. And I can't have that._ Besides, would she accept it if he slept with another woman?

She already knew the answer before she even asked it herself;

no, she wouldn't.

Botan snapped out of her musings as she heard Kurama shift in the bed, the creaking sound that followed his actions reaching her ears. She averted her eyes to him, watching as he turned his head to the side and grunted, but still, he didn't open his eyes. Her eyes grew wide as she realized that the redhead was waking up. For a moment, she considered bolting for the exit, but stopped herself as he began letting out a violent fit of coughs. Worry replaced fear and she was soon standing close to him, one arm wrapped around his back as the other found a place on his shoulder.

"Kurama?" she called, voice in a deep concern, "Are you okay? Do you need me to get you something? Kurama?" she asked, though a cough was her only answer. Trepidation over something bad occuring to him gripped at her sides and she quickly whirled her head to the door. "Koe—"

Her words were promptly cut short as a hand grabbed her wrist and tugged her down to the bed, causing a startled cry to escape her lips. It was all a blur, and it all happened all too fast, but by the time she opened her eyes, she found a pair of dark forest green staring back at her.

"K-Kurama?" His name left her in a fearful whisper. The desire clouding his eyes were unmistakable and for some reason, it scared her. When she peered around, she saw that his legs were between hers, her eyes then catching the bulge in his pants. She blushed and looked away, but callous fingers soon found her chin, forcing her to face the fox once more.

Kurama's eyelids were heavy, half-lidded, and Botan could see slight flickers of smoldering gold peeking through them as he eyed her hungrily. Heart palpitating wildly in her chest, Botan tried to avert her gaze somewhere else, but found that she couldn't break off his intense stare. Red crept up her cheeks as she watched him dart his tongue out, the wet appendage licking at his lips, almost as if he was about to savor a sweet treat. The room was devoid from any sound except for his heavy pants as Botan felt him stealthily slid his knee higher against her thigh, forcing her skirt to hike up a little and causing the ferry girl to feel a bit exposed.

Then, all of a sudden, as if he just snapped out of a trance, he blinked once, twice and she could see the humanity return in his emerald eyes.

"Botan?" he said her name in a hoarse whisper, a look of recognition crossing his face. "What are you…" he started, but then trailed off and went to pull away. She felt the warmth of his body gradually leaving her, and that was the moment Kuwabara's words echoed in her mind:

" _He could die._ "

And before she realized it, she was already sitting up from the bed with her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, clinging to him like life itself. She felt Kurama's body turn into a rigid line at the feel of her supple figure against the hard contours of his form, and heard a growl rumble from his chest as he took her by the shoulders and tried to shove her off of him.

"Please," she begged as he managed to gain an inch of distance between them, "Please, don't leave." She looked up and saw him staring at her hard, his eyes sharp and narrowed and his mouth tugged down in an angry frown.

She pleaded him with her eyes and went on, "Look, it's okay." He didn't seem all convinced and she said it out loud: "It's fine. I don't mind. You can… d-do anything you want with me." She gaped at him, seeking for an answer from his features. Although, he remained as stern as ever, unmoving and unresponsive. Her eyes started to water and her head drooped down. "Please, Kurama. I don't want to lose you." Her words left her in a hushed whisper, almost as if she was afraid that he would leave if she didn't say them.

For a moment, the fox was silent and Botan feared that his mind was really set on leaving. She gripped tightly to his shirt, and before she could start begging again, another growl reached her ears, causing her to lift her head and peer at the redhead.

Kurama looked straight into her eyes, then, in a firm voice, said the words, "Don't regret this."

And she hesitated only for a second, before she shook her head. "No, I won't."

That seemed to be all the permission he needed, and he pushed her down to the bed again, his hot mouth slamming against hers in a heated kiss. Botan responded with equal fervor, realizing that somewhere in her heart, this was what she yearned for for so very long. Their heads moved back and forth for a few moments, his mouth rough on her soft lips. He bit the bottom half of her lip, and she let out a small, endearing whimper, the action allowing him to dive his tongue into her wet cavern. Botan moaned in the kiss, arching her back as his hand found her breast, palming the soft mound. The wet appendage streaked slowly and teasingly from her teeth, to the roof of her mouth, the insides of her cheeks, until finally it found hers. A heat began to burn in the pit of her stomach and she stroked back as his tongue moved against hers.

Kurama's other hand roamed over every inch of her body, before resting on her hips and giving them a tight squeeze. Botan yelped, breaking off the kiss and throwing her head back. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her sweet, vanilla scent before pulling away and gazing at her half-lidded, now glazed over with lust, dark purple irises. His eyes met hers, and his hands flew to her shirt, ripping it, along with her bra, in half with one, quick, and easy tug. He relished in the gasp he managed to elicit from her in return, a seductive grin curving at the corners of his lips as she threw him a half-angry look.

The expression felled from her features as his warm hands slid up and down her waist, causing her body to shake as they danced slowly closer and closer to where she wanted him. A small whimper slipped out of her mouth and Kurama smirked. Finally, his fingers found her panties, stroking her through the linen fabric. He rubbed her two or three more times before he pulled apart momentarily to slide the underwear down her smooth legs. His mouth hanging apart, Kurama seemed to drool as his gaze fixated on the jewel between her thighs. Her pussy was wet and dripping with need, the lips pink and swollen. Pre-cum trickled from her hole and down to the mattress and he had to swallow a lump to contain himself as he flicked his eyes back to her face. Botan's cheeks flushed bright red, timid and shy, and he couldn't help but smile as he found the look awfully adorable.

A delightful shiver traveled down Botan's spine as he dipped a finger teasingly between her folds, running it up and down her clit in an agonizingly slow, teasing pace. Biting her lip, she shut her eyes tight as she begged, "Please, Kurama."

He grinned evilly at her. "Please what?"

Botan blushed, too embarrassed to say out loud what she needed. She went to turn her head away, but the fox would have none of that.

"No," he growled as his fingers found her chin, tilting her head back to face him. Her shy gaze met with his dark one, then came the order: "Look at me and say it."

"B-but—"

"Say it," he repeated, voice lower, but firmer, "I want you to hear you say it."

Botan stared back at him, the predatory gleam in his rich emeralds causing her to grow impossibly wetter against his fingers and she bucked her hips. "P-Please," she started, trying to withhold eye contact as she finished, "s-suck it."

There! She said it. He couldn't possibly deny her, could he?

Kurama gave out a satisfied smirk, before bending down, head disappearing between her legs. His lips found her pussy, and he could have sworn Botan let out the most estatic cry he ever had the pleasure of hearing. He opened his mouth to permit the slightest taste of her juices on his tongue, a throaty groan muffled in his throat as he flicked it up and down her clit. Botan's body jerked up and his hands instantly found her hips, keeping her still and against his hot mouth.

With her loud mewls and cries of his name serving to only add to his arousal and as encouragement, he went all in, running his tongue deep into her pussy until it couldn't go anymore, hitting every sensitive spot he could find and reducing the girl into a quivering mess. Moaning, Botan reached a hand to touch his head, forcing him impossibly deeper into her while he greedily lapped her up, thrusting and flicking his tongue in magical ways that made her see stars. It wasn't as if she never had a guy go down on her –no, in fact, most of them were fairly good, but this was so different. Other men had been all about the power – they fucked hard and fast until the end, but with Kurama, it was slow and torturous, drawing out every wave of pleasure in the most intense way possible.

Botan could feel something building inside her and her moans grew faster and louder, her breath labored as she bucked her hips wildly against his tongue. Kurama was still going at it faster than ever, his fingers digging almost painfully into the plump skin of her ass. But, it was already getting too much. She knew she wouldn't last any longer.

"Kurama, I-I'm gonna…" she tried to say, only to fall off short as her words died down in her throat, replaced with pleasured whimpers.

"God yes," Kurama gasped out in between the hard strokes and swirls of his tongue, "come for me. Come for me and scream my name out loud so that everyone knows that you are _mine_ ," he growled, the dirty words and the possessiveness dripping in his voice bringing her closer over the edge as he thrusted his tongue once, twice into her. And that was all it took; that was all it took for everything to melt into one mind blowing feeling of intense pleasure as she came all over his face, tightening around his tongue harder than she ever had before. She screamed his name while he finished lapping up her juices, swallowing every bit of it until she overrode her high.

"K-Kurama, please," she begged with a shaky breath as he pulled his head apart from her legs and licked the remnants of her come of his lips. Her pleading amethysts found his lustful emeralds, and she whispered, "I want you in me."

A growl, almost animalistic, rumbled in his chest as he unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, pulling it down and throwing it over his shoulder in one, quick motion. He positioned himself at her pulsing center, the tip of his cock teasing her between her folds and it took every ounce of control in her not to ram herself against him.

Without warning, Kurama forced himself deep into her, the pleasure she felt immediate. He was not at all gentle, not even giving her a moment to adjust to his size –and he was big. He sunk himself hilt deep into her, pulling almost all the way out, and then sinking in yet again. Botan tried hard to keep quiet, but the moans seemed to slip uncontrollably out of her, increasing in volume each time he buried his cock deep inside of her. Her hand traveled down between her legs to touch herself, before Kurama grabbed it and pinned it above her head against the headboard. He leaned in by her ear, biting down –hard.

"I'm going to make you come, Botan," he swore, his eyes dark and smoldering as he pulled away to meet her gaze, "Don't even think about touching yourself."

"Please," Botan moaned, "Faster, harder –please."

Kurama complied, driving in and out of her at a near incomprehensible speed. Grunts began to escape from his mouth and it turned her on even more as the sound of skin slapping skin reverberated in the room. One of his hands grabbed on to her hips and guided her against him. Botan understood what he wanted her to do and began to buck her hips against him, her movements urgent and lacking any technique, but further increasing the pleasure. The fox let out a loud moan of appreciation as her hips met his, and Botan flicked her gaze down to his face, realizing that his eyes had drooped close as his mouth parted to form her name. His cock slid in and out of her at an inhuman pace, the pleasure building deep within her stomach. The hand that had been busy pinning her wrist above her head pulled her closer against him and suddenly, he was able to hit an entirely new angle deep within her.

Botan threw her head back and screamed loudly in pleasure, "Oh, god, please. More, more!" she begged, just as Kurama buried his head in the crook of her neck, a growl leaving his lips and his hot breath fanning against her skin. He increased his speed even more, hitting the spot within her harder and harder with each thrust. He pounded into her almost animalistically, forcing her to scream again and again in intense pleasure. Every thrust brought her closer and closer to the edge, and Botan could feel herself beginning to fall.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god! Yes!" Her vision exploded into white, pure pleasure rolling in waves throughout her entire body, the coil within her stomach unraveling with force as her orgasm broke through every wall in her. Botan took in greedy inhales of air, and as she descended from her high, she became aware of the fact that Kurama still continued to ram into her, his face tight in concentration. He was fighting to hold his own climax back, wanting to make her came once more.

"God, you feel so good," he moaned, his breathing ragged and heavym "So tight, so hot, so…" His eyes opened, then focused on her, "…beautiful." Botan blushed at the compliment, but said nothing and merely watched him as sweat dripped off of him, his body glistening in the dimly lit room. The hand that had been holding her against him traveled down to her clit and he began to rub in small circles. Again Botan could feel the pleasure building up in her again, less than five seconds after her last orgasm. Kurama pushed himself deep within her, rubbing her swollen clit with force as he thrust into her. His moans were increasing in volume, turning her on even more even though she were still sensitive.

He leaned his forehead forward to touch hers, his mouth falling open and his deep breaths of pleasure fanning out across her lips. "Say my name," he whispered, his voice nearly inaudible. "Say my name." He continued to thrust into her, whispering her name in pleasure. "Botan, Botan, Botan," he groaned his broken mantra.

She closed her eyes. "Kurama," she whispered, relishing in the breathy sigh that escaped his lips as his name rolled off her tongue perfectly. "Kurama, Kurama." The fire continued to build, and with a powerful thrust into her, she felled apart into pure white bliss, his name falling out her lips in an almost desperate whimper.

Kurama groaned, and with one last thrust, came inside her.

As she sunk down from yet another high, Botan could feel him pull out of her, his come trickling down her thigh. He collapsed at her side, trying to catch his breath and she took that moment to shift slightly and lie her head on his chest. His hand instantly found her hair, fingers weaving through and curling around her soft sky blue tresses. Exhausted, Botan yawned, growing sleepy with each passing minute. Kurama smiled at this, then bent down to kiss her forehead.

Botan's eyelids slowly slid close, her consciousness gradually drifting into the land of dreams. However, before sleep completely overtook her, she could hear him softly whisper into her ear:

"Thank you."


	3. Chapter 3

**Euphoria**

 **Summary:** She could see the desire pooling in his emerald orbs as he looked straight into her eyes and in a voice, low and husky, said simply, "I want you."

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

 **Chapter 3**

"So, did you find out anything?"

Yusuke, Kuwabara and Botan were huddled around on the floor of Yusuke's apartment, the first two with their eyes fixed on Koenma's face on the bright white screen. The ferry girl stared dazedly at an empty spot on the blue carpet covering the floor, her usually vibrant pools of amethyst clouded into dark purple. The others didn't seem to notice her strange behavior, however, as they were too absorbed in listening to what the Reikai prince had to say.

"Hmm, from what I've gathered from my sources – and Hiei's, by the way – I would suspect that it's someone who has something to do with Kurama's past. An old nemesis of some sort, perhaps," Koenma elaborated, chewing slightly on his pacifier.

"And what about the flower?"

"It's a rare species. Most likely from Makai. Kurama would know what it is, but I haven't gone to check up on him. I haven't had the time." There was a pause, and Koenma's hazel orbs seemed to spare a fleeting glance at Botan. "If only someone's willing to go in my stead…"

Botan blinked as she felt eyes on her. "Huh?" came her dumb response, before she turned her head to Yusuke and Kuwabara. She then peered back at her boss. "You mean, me?"

"Who else would I be talking about?" Koenma replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. There was a tinge of annoyance in his eyes, before it quickly dissipated as he expelled a heavy sigh. "You wouldn't mind that, would you?"

The girl frowned, and parted her lips to answer. But she didn't even manage to let out a word as Kuwabara beat her to it, "Why would she? She's been going there everyday for the past couple of weeks, anyways."

"I know," Koenma murmured, though one could see one of his eyebrows twitching in irritation at Kuwabara's blatant outburst. What was he, stupid? "I'm just checking to see if she's still alright with this… this agreement," he finished coolly, despite the awkward pause in the middle of his sentence.

"What do you mean, pacifier breath?" Yusuke asked, his brown eyes narrowed slightly at the teenage form of the Reikai prince. Koenma seemed equally exasperated.

"I mean what I mean. I'm just worried that something bad might happen to her-"

"I'm fine, Koenma-sama," Botan's firm voice cut short his indignant cry, and the other three turned to look at her to see the frown marring her forehead deepened ever so slightly. "Kurama wouldn't do anything to hurt me."

A soft sigh escaped through Koenma's slightly parted lips. "I know he won't, Botan." He leaned into his chair, his soft features growing fierce. "But, he's still a demon. And sex with a demon can be dangerous."

"I'll be okay. I mean, I've been sleeping with him everyday since the last fourteen days-"

Koenma cleared his throat loudly, and it worked fully well in its attempt of silencing the ferry girl. Botan clamped her mouth shut, though her lips were now tugged down into a single thin line to match the look of displeasure in her irises.

"I can understand that and all," Koenma started, fingers tapping half impatiently against the armrest of his chair, "but I get the feeling that he's been holding back. Kurama _does_ have, by far, the most self-control out of everyone we've all ever known, after all. And I have faith that he's trying to restrain himself from hurting you, even if he's under the strong influence of the aphrodisiac." There was a pause; a pause that hung painfully in the air. "But, it wouldn't hurt to be careful."

Botan's tense body seemed to relax a little; her shoulder slouching down and her countenance becoming tender. But she was still frigid; calm, but frigid. "I believe in Kurama," she mumbled, "I believe he'll keep himself together throughout this whole ordeal until we find a cure, or at least, someway to… slow down the effects of the drug."

Koenma nodded slowly in affirmation, but he still didn't seem convinced. His doubt was expressed through the look on his face, and even his words as he uttered, in a low, almost inaudible murmur,

"All I'm saying is that if things do take a turn for the worst, then you can back out from this anytime you want." It was a warning; a chance for her to escape before the opportunity slipped away. He knew that she knew. She knew that everyone knew.

However, the resolve and determination in her eyes never wavered, even for a slightest moment. She was unperturbed.

* * *

Botan reached a fist to knock on the door, staring at the boring old white colour of the material as she waited for some kind of acknowledgement. None came for a while, and it was seconds of listening to the sound of shuffling from the other side of the door before a muffled response finally echoed through the barricade stopping her from entering the fox's room. He sounded as if he had just been woken up from a deep slumber.

"Come in."

She didn't waste another second; hand enclosing around the doorknob before pushing it open. The material slid almost too slowly for her taste, and she caught a flash of red peeking through the bedsheets, before she stepped into the threshold and slid the door close behind her.

"Are you going to keep coming here like this?" Kurama's voice resonated from under the covers, and Botan blinked, watching as the lump on the bed slowly sat up, the sheets gliding down to reveal an emerald-eyed redhead. An odd smile was plastered on his lips, and for some reason, he seemed _tired_.

She frowned. "Yes," she answered without a moment of hesitation, before advancing towards him. She pulled a chair that was lying against the wall beside the bed, and could almost feel his eyes on her as she flopped down on it and scooted closer to him. A shiver involuntarily traveled down her spine, but she tried to ignore it as she looked up at him once more and managed to form a smile on her lips. "Or would that displease you?"

His eyes softened for a moment, before the poker face slipped back to place and he shook his head. The quirk on his lips seemed to widen a little. "Of course not." He tucked a strand of red hair behind his ear, before reaching to finger on the hem of her red miniskirt. His pools of emeralds turned gold as he spared a fleeting glance at her long, smooth legs, before reverting back to their original colour as he flicked his gaze back to her face. He grinned; mischievous… almost predatory. "I'm just making sure you're still certain of your decision."

Botan blinked slowly, almost as if to clear the haziness from her view as she felt his fingers pull away, his hand resting limply on his lap. A wave of disappointment overtook her, but she tried not to show it as she collected herself and inquired, "What are you implying?"

"Do you plan to keep doing this?" Kurama leaned against the headboard, his eyes studying her; scrutinizing in a way that made her feel almost uncomfortable. He was reading her; reading to see if there was a tinge of hesitation in her eyes and body language. But his emeralds soon softened, almost as if he caught none.

"Should I not?" she responded with another question, the front of her teeth chewing on her bottom lip. "I mean, are you somehow opposed to…"

"Like I said, I have nothing against any of this," Kurama cut her short simply, his voice calm even as his gaze was glued to her sweet mouth; even as his eyes were beginning to turn dark with lust. He then shook his head, as if to find some subtlety in what they were doing, and a second later, he seemed somewhat like his normal self. _Somewhat_. "But surely Koenma has warned you about taking this too far. If this keeps up, I myself am not entirely certain I will not brutalize you in some way. The aphrodisiac… has very omnipotent effects. I can keep them under control for now, but it won't be long before Youko – my other half – starts feeling the need to take over."

She shuddered as his eyes flashed, a momentary flicker of gold in his emerald orbs peeking through long, black eyelashes. "And what happens when he does?" she questioned, albeit shakily so.

Botan could have sworn she caught the slightest hint of a smirk graze his lips, but couldn't quite put her finger if it wasn't just her imagination as his countenance reverted to its usual stoic, impenetrable stare.

"If that happens," he started, pausing for a moment to inhale a sharp intake of breath, "then I can't guarantee that he- I- we won't break you."

The ferry girl somehow managed to conjure up an image of the fox taking her so aggressively from the back in her mind, and couldn't resist the shiver that racked through her form. It scared her, really, but it frightened her much more how much she actually she wanted it.

She was suddenly aware of Kurama's dark stare; fixated on her covered breasts. There was a small glint on his lips, and she wondered briefly if that was a fang she could see poking through his mouth.

"I-I'll be fine, I think," Botan finally found her voice, but it sounded a bit hoarse. Kurama looked up at her in surprise, his eyes staring into hers, seeking for the lie, and red eyebrows quirking upwards in interest as he found none. "I mean, I'm not an average human girl and I- I'm strong enough. I can take it. Besides," She stood up from the chair, uncaring of her own doubts as she flopped down on an unoccupied space beside him on the bed, "I've already made up my mind, and… well, you know me, once I've decided to do something, nothing's going to stop me." A giggle poured out her lips, even as she could feel his gaze raking over every inch of her exposed skin, drinking in the sight of her as she scooted closer until she was practically in his lap, her back against his chest as she played idly with a strand of white on the bed.

She could feel his muscles flex under the white dress shirt she wore at the slightest contact of her clothed back against his slightly bare chest. He had left a few buttons undone, and couldn't help but feel like ripping _her_ clothes off as he felt the warmth of her body sapped into his skin through the linen fabric covering her torso. He wanted to touch her _so_ bad. But, he held back, merely watching her as her hand gingerly fingered the hem of her skirt. He imagined that skirt hiking up to reveal her panties – he'd tore the ones from last night, maybe he should do it again. The startled gasp he'd elicited from her was sexy enough to spur him on – and that caused a growl to escape from him through his gritted teeth.

"Botan." His voice was low, husky even; breathing ragged. Botan hummed in response, her back driving up against him as her hips found the bulge in his pants, a moan leaving her lips as she rocked her firm butt against his covered erection. She could have sworn he shuddered.

"A- Are you really sure?" he managed to form out the words, despite the pleasure rocketing through every cell of his being.

He wanted nothing more than to force her on her stomach, mount her and take her as hard and fast as he possibly could. But, first, he needed to make sure. He needed to make sure that she was well aware of the dangerous consenquences that could come from this sort of agreement, needed to know that she was fully prepared to deal with him, demon or not, even if he was at his worst. Putting Reikai's smothering laws and punishments aside, he could _literally_ hurt her if he were to unleash the beast lying dormant within him. He didn't want her to push him away sooner or later, and needed to be certain that she would accept what was to come, no matter what. That whatever he was getting her involved with, she wouldn't leave him alone to deal with it by himself.

For a moment, Botan seemed to pause, as if hesitating. It wasn't as if she didn't understand the gravity of the situation – no, but it frightened her to think of what the fox could do to her. But, she _loved_ him. Cared for him too much to abandon him. And she didn't want to think of another woman becoming his partner in this ordeal. _No_. He was hers, and hers alone. Even if they hadn't established any formal relationship yet. But for now, he _was_. And she wasn't about to let him go or share him with someone else. _He_ wasn't the only one known to be possessive.

Besides, it only took his long, callous fingers tracing stealthily into her skirt for her to throw the remnants of her doubts out and let them rot, and just think; _oh, what the hell._ She wanted him too much, and even though it was probably due to the effects of the aphrodisiac, he wanted her as well.

She would let him do whatever he wanted with her.

"Y-yes," her response came out as a hoarse whisper as his hand disappeared into her panties, teasing delicate skin before finally meeting her slick core. "Yes, I'm sure," she repeated, louder this time as her right hand gripped onto his arm, her toes curling as his fingers delved inside.

That was all the answer he needed to hear, and with a feral growl, he grabbed a fistful of her hair with his free hand, tugging her head back to meet his lips.


	4. Chapter 4

**Euphoria**

 **Summary:** She could see the desire pooling in his emerald orbs as he looked straight into her eyes and in a voice, low and husky, said simply, "I want you."

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

 **Chapter 4**

" _Ah_! Ku-Kurama…"

Long, black eyelashes fluttered close, slightly red lips parted to expel a soft pant as the fox listened; _relished_ in the endearing whimpers he managed to elicit from the ferry girl. He tugged at her panties, a shredding sound following his actions before he threw the tattered underwear to the floor and went back to stroking her. Botan arched her back, her ass rubbing up against his cock through the fabric of his jeans, and he growled, moving his fingers faster inside her.

In, out, in, out… He curled-

 _Jackpot_. He mused as a loud, startled cry of pleasure reached his ears, causing him to stifle a groan. A predatory grin crossed his lips against her hair, her vanilla scent entering his nostrils as he buried himself deeper into her blue mane and thrust his fingers harder against the sensitive spot he succeeded to find within her slick core.

She was so wet, so hot, and he had to resist the urge to rip her clothes to shreds as his free hand dropped to the hem of her black-striped pink buttoned down shirt, trailing stealthily inside before tracing her smooth skin. His fingers glided teasingly up her flat stomach, nails scraping against her flesh as he moved upwards until he found her left breast. He massaged it through the rough fabric of her bra, but this only lasted for a few moments before he got tired of it and decided he wanted more. With his fingers, he expertly took off the wire at the front of the pesky undergarment, feeling it fall open before his hand quickly grabbed her soft mound, stroking harder than before until he felt her nipple grow taut against the skin of his palm. A throaty groan finally left his lips and he rubbed the rosy bud between his index and middle finger, the digits moving up and down before flicking against her sensitive nipple.

Botan's body was quivering against him, and he reveled in it, breathy pants erupting from his throat as he took a whiff of the intoxicating scent of her arousal, growing impossibly harder as he allowed the smell to surround him. He grounded his hips against her butt, desperate for some friction as he added a third finger into her soaking pussy, her juices dripping down his digits as he hooked and drilled them into her with a pace that could have left a normal human gasping for air. He felt her walls clamp down, holding her closer as he intensified his ministrations, thrusting faster and harder into her.

"Yes, _yes_ …!" Botan screamed, a dazed smile playing on her lips as her orgasm racked through every nerve in her body, causing her to go limp for a few moments in Kurama's arms.

"That was fast," he whispered with a tinge of underlying humor in the heavily suppressed desire tone of his voice as he felt her unravel, her cum shooting out and slipping between his fingers and onto the mattress before he pulled them out with a wet 'pop'. He turned her around, before pushing her down the bed, a satisfied smirk lingering at the corners of his mouth as he eyed her dark, lustful purple orbs, the pink tinge coloring her cheeks almost too adorable to ignore. Her breathing was labored, and Kurama became increasingly aware that his was as well.

"Have you been waiting for this?" he went on as his gaze traveled to the slit between her legs, the skirt hiked up to reveal her womanhood; his mouth nearly watering at the sight of the white substance trickling down her thighs, her pussy pink and swollen and oh so wet with her cum and her arousal.

"N-no…" Botan's voice answered demurely, her legs quivering as his index finger found her clit, casually poking at it and causing her to lurch in surprise.

"You're a very terrible liar," he husked, his digits dipping to her cunt to let her cum envelop them fully before he brought them to his lips, tongue darting out through his parted mouth as he sucked up every drop of her pleasure, his eyes on hers to study her reaction. His smirk took on a more devilish approach as Botan threw her head back and mewled at him to stop teasing her.

Kurama obliged, hands flying to his shirt to undo his buttons as he kept his gaze glued to her face, the hungry look on her features so sexy he nearly came there and then. A feral growl rumbled at the back of his throat, his shoulders rolling to allow the article of clothing to glide down his form.

Tender, warm fingers that didn't belong to him abruptly found his belt, fumbling before taking it off and discarding it on the floor to join Botan's torn underwear. He blinked at the feel of his pants getting undone, pools of dark green casting downwards to observe the hands hastily tugging them, along with his boxers, down his legs. His gaze flicked up to meet the owner's; emeralds locking with amethysts, and groan tearing out his lips as the ferry girl's fist wrapped around his thick shaft, thumbing the tip before moving up and down with a deliciously fast pace.

Fearing that he might not last long if she kept this up, he reached one hand downwards to grab hers, feeling her ministrations coming to a halt as she blinked, peering up at him with a confused expression on her countenace. He grinned, shook his head, removing her fingers from him as he leaned forward and took a hold of her shirt with both hands. In one swift motion, he wrenched the clothing off, ignoring her yelp as buttons flew, falling to the floor. He threw it over his shoulder, uncaring of where it landed as his fingers found her skirt, dragging it teasingly down her smooth legs before joining it with the heap of clothing on the cold floor.

Palms lying flat by her either side, the fox nudged his thighs between hers, going to position himself at her center, only to stop as something caught his eyes from his peripheral vision. It was purple, long and—

His left hand instantly flew to her purse, and he cocked his head to the side, looking inside through the slightly open bag. This seemed to draw Botan partially out her desire-induced state, and she quickly moved to snatch it out of his grasp. But, he was a demon, and he was faster, and he swiftly pulled it out of her reach. The girl pouted, but the fox was too busy studying the thing inside her purse to notice. He slid his hand inside, promptly taking hold of it and Botan literally threw herself into his arms.

Emerald eyes blinked. "Botan?"

"D-don't look at it," she voiced, her face bright scarlet as she pushed herself off his chest. Her pools of amethyst pleaded with him, a delicate red eyebrow raising in interest at her odd behavior. But, he was not easily dismissed, and he quickly retrieved the thing out of her purse, ignoring her whine as his gaze went to what was in his hand.

A devious grin immediately found its way to his lips. "My, my, Botan," He held it up in the air, smoldering gold peeking through his green irises as he waved it in front of her, "a vibrator?"

"I-I brought it just in case," she promptly went to defend herself, bottom lip pulled out into an endearing pout as she mutely –helplessly– observed him scrutinize the purple rabbit vibrator she got from Shizuru.

"Just in case?" He stopped eyeing the vibrator to study her, one eyebrow quirked at her in wonder. "What were you planning to do with them?"

"W-well," and she gulped down a lump in her throat, "you always fall right asleep after having sex. And I- I just thought I might need them for… uh…"

"For round two?"

Blood immediately rushed to her cheeks, embarrassment quickly overwhelming her senses. Did he have to sound so casual about it?

"S-sort of," she stammered, glancing around the room here and there; peering at everywhere but him. "I-I mean, you always leave me wanting for more… but sometimes you just go to sleep right away, and even when I ask for… well, a second time, you always say no."

"I didn't want to wear you out," he justified for his actions, but Botan could clearly see the hint of a self-satisfied smirk teasing at the edge of his lips, his emerald irises dancing in mischief. Not _just_ mischief. She shivered at the lustful stare he pinned her with, the gaze so intense she could just feel the tension hanging painfully in the air.

"Lie down," he suddenly told her, and she blinked. Slowly. As if to clear away some haziness from her vision.

"What?"

"Lie down." And there it was; the order, as simple as it was, dripped heavily with raw emotion. The girl swallowed, but did as she was told, heart thumping loudly in her chest as she felt her small back collide with the soft surface of the bed.

"You have more than one?" His voice was tinged in surprise, mingling with a growl that rumbled from his throat as she looked down to see him eyeing another vibrator he'd managed to retrieve from her purse; the silver bullet was, well, what she would call her 'getaway drug', so to speak. Botan quickly looked away, she wanted to cover her face with her arms; she was probably as red as his hair, if not redder. She expected him to just fuck her right then and there, but he was just sitting there while her goods were right in the open!

At the feeling of weight scooting closer towards her, Botan flicked open her eyelids she hadn't even realized were close. She peered down, catching sight of Kurama sitting languidly between her spread thighs, a cheeky grin tugging at his lips as he held each vibrator in one hand.

"W-what are you doing?"

"Figuring out how they work," he responded, the seductive tone in his voice causing another shiver to trail down her spine. But, she blinked.

"Well, obviously… but why?"

Kurama didn't justify her with a reply and instead, turned on the bullet vibrator, the quirk of his mouth now spreading from ear to ear as he watched her chew on the plump skin of her lower lip in a nervous manner. Botan, realizing that he wasn't about to take no as an answer, merely spread her legs wider, thinking to herself: _oh, whatever, I don't even care anymore_ , and just going with the flow.

His eyes locked with hers as he turned it on the first setting and lightly touched it against her sensitive pink slit, causing her to inhale sharply and arch her back in anticipation. Botan turned her head to the side; she couldn't even look at him while he pleasured her like this, too embarrassed to even spare a fleeting glance his way. But, he would have none of that, grabbing ahold of her chin and forcing her to mee his dark gaze.

"I want to see you," he snarled, allowing her no means of escape. The ferry girl let out a small whimper, but found that she couldn't hold her stare before whirling her eyes away yet again to focus on the boring old wall.

She could just feel how hot her face was – almost as hot as he was making her whole body feel – and she figured she probably seemed ridiculous, all curled up on the big fluffy bed, lying there in her naked glory and all her dirty secrets exposed to the cutest guy and also the one and only male she harbored feelings for that just happened to be touching her naughty bits at the moment. With. Her. Vibrator.

No, she _couldn't_ look at him. Couldn't even afford to.

"No…" she said softly, her eyes clamping shut, cheeks flushed a bright rosy hue as he continued to run the vibrator up and down her tight hole, the sensations traveling through every cell of her being almost too overwhelming to bear.

"No?" he echoed in a way that asserted authority, and she could almost imagine him sporting a smirk, baring his sharp fangs at her. He was going to _make_ her look at him, and she was going to _like it_ , or he wasn't going to give her what she wanted so desperately that easily.

"No… I mean, no." She finally turned to fix her gaze on him, keeping her lips tight together. He arched an eyebrow at her, before throwing his head back as a soft, husky chuckle built up in his chest and escaped his lips.

"You're so cute, Botan," he abruptly remarked, voice in deep admiration. The deity in question just gave him an incredulous stare.

"Cute?"

He nodded. "Mm-hmm. Positively adorable."

She was still confused what he meant when he shoved the rabbit vibrator inside of her. All thoughts were chassed away as she tilted her head back, eyes growing wide in surprise as she moaned and gasped for air. She involutarily closed her legs in the meantime, but he commanded them open again.

"Yeah, you like that?" he whispered in a gruff voice that made her impossibly wetter, and she felt as if her juices were just _spilling out_ on the bed sheets. It was lewd, almost damn near impossible, but also undoubtedly real.

He quickly turned on the vibrations and gradually kept turning it up until it was on it's max setting, twisting it and thrusting it into her pussy, grunting as if he was actually fucking her. Botan was biting on her hand to somehow keep her loud moans at bay. But, again, he would tolerate none of that, swiftly taking hold of her wrist and pushing it over her head.

"Don't," he said, breathing labored, and voice hoarse, "I want to ear you," he went on softly, barely audible over the vibrations that rang in her ears.

She shook her head in response, but already, she was letting out loud, shaky whimpers, her hips bucking against the vibrator as she threw her head back, acutely aware of the drool trailing down her chin. He leaned closer and abruptly licked it away, eventually pulling out the vibrator and putting them both aside. Continuing right along, he moved to hover over her, the tall, hard contours of his form looming over her supple, petite figure and she couldn't resist the urge to run her hands over his pecks, down to his abs and up again to the muscles flexing at his arms. Kurama visibly shuddered, his hands gripping onto her shoulders as he leaned forward to bury his face in the crook of her neck.

She felt him position his cock at her slit, nails digging into his skin as she arched her back once more, waiting impatiently for the feeling of him inside her; a sigh of relief escaping her pink, honey-dew lips, as he finally, FINALLY, buried the tip of his shaft into her slick core. She bit her lip, preventing herself from screaming as she felt him push himself into her hilt-deep.

He started rolling his hips, slow and gentle at first, before gradually turning hot and fast after a few moments of being engulfed in her warm cavern. She was so tight, so good, and he could feel the last bit of his control slipping before he knew it.

Unable to take it anymore, Botan let out a loud moan, her legs hooking around his waist as her feet came into contact with his bare hips, toenails curling before trying to pull him impossibly deeper.

Sweat beaded his forehead, trickled down his chin and dropped to the soft, baby flesh of her chest as her screams increased in volume and frequency the faster he went. He pounded into her, the pace so quick she nearly feared he would break her in half. With each thrust, he went deeper and deeper inside her, faster and faster, and harder and harder, and Botan felt the bed creaking loudly, screeching against the floor as the headboard slammed into the wall in time with his brute force.

"Tell me you're mine," he practically growled in her ear, causing a shiver to rack through her being. She shut her eyes, her nails running up and down his back, scratching and leaving bloody marks in its wake. His groans rivalled her owns, and she couldn't take it anymore. She was so close. So, _so_ close.

"I-I'm yours…" she eventually whispered, her mouth parting to permit her tongue to lick at his sensitive earlobe. He snarled, and practically drove his hips faster into her, her whimpers chopped into syllables as he thrust into her with all he was worth. At some point, she heard a small crack, as if the bed was breaking, but couldn't afford to bring herself to care. She wanted him so bad, nothing else in the world mattered.

She gasped out loud as he hoisted her legs up his shoulders, using the added leverage to drill his cock deeper into her tight hole, his tip brushing against that sweet spot within her, causing the small fire at the pit of her stomach to burst up into flames. Kurama trailed hot, open-mouthed kisses along her collarbone, up to the junction between her neck and her shoulders, before finally resting on the middle of her throat. He nipped at the spot, his tongue darting out to lick at the small hickey he managed to mark on her skin. She was his, all his, and he would let everyone knew that she belonged to him. Koenma and Enma Daioh be damned.

Botan's hands flew to his hair, fingers entangling and tugging at the fiery red locks as she mewled loudly, waves after waves of unbearable, delicious pleasure rocketing through her body. She could feel every inch of him sliding in and out of her, crying out everytime the tip of his cock rubbed harshly against the sensitive spot within her. Oh god, oh god, _Kurama_ —

She screamed his name as she came, her orgasm overriding her senses as she bit on her lower lip until it bled, the blood trickling down her chin before the fox quickly licked it away with one swipe of his hot, wet tongue. He felt her walls clamp tightly around him, a savage curse escaping his lips as he squirted his hot seed inside her, coming at the same time as the ferry girl. His thrusts gradually slowed, growing stagnant ss they rode their highs together.

He stayed put, his thick shaft still inside her for a few moments before he pulled it out with a pop, smiling softly at the whine that left her lips at the lost feeling she earned in return. He shifted to his side, wrapping his arms around her and bringing her to his chest as they tried to regain their breaths. Botan had her eyes drooped close, but she soon fluttered them open as a soft peck touched at her forehead, the kiss brief and chaste before the fox landed another one squarely on her lips.

"Round two?" he teased, his eyes glinting at her as a laugh tore out her lips, watching her before he soon joined her.

"Perhaps another time," she eventually responded, one hand reaching upwards to curl a strand of red hair around her pinky finger. She suddenly recalled another reason for her visit, other than to satisfy his needs. "I have something to ask..." she murmured, propping herself up her elbows and eyeing as the fox followed her movements.

He blinked. "What is it?"

Her features turned downright serious, her hand resting limply on her lap as his lock of crimson mane was removed from her finger, falling to join the rest of his tresses. She turned to look at him, her eyes staring deeply into his as she slowly parted her lips:

"About the flower…"


	5. Chapter 5

**Euphoria**

 **Summary:** She could see the desire pooling in his emerald orbs as he looked straight into her eyes and in a voice, low and husky, said simply, "I want you."

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

 **Chapter 5**

A short pause seemed to hang in the air. Botan waited for him to say something, watching for a moment as his firm body visibly turned rigid before relaxing again, the look of composure never gone from his face.

"What about it?" Kurama eventually questioned, hips scooting backwards so he could lie his back against the headboard.

"Koenma-sama… he believes that you should know what it is," she responded as she brought her knees to her chest, and buried her chin there. "The flower, I mean." She kept her gaze transfixed on the spinning fan hanging from the ceiling, but still, she could feel his eyes on her. Studying her. Observing her every movement.

A smile slowly curled at the edge of his lips. "I do, fortunately," he finally spoke after a while, the quirk on his mouth broadening ever so slightly as he saw her blink in surprise before turning to peer at him.

"You do?"

He nodded. "I do," he repeated, his smile faltering from his features as they became dead serious. "It's a nonexistent species originating from Gandara, a plant called Yokuboshi."

"Gandara?" she echoed, a look of recognition entering her pools of amethyst. "Isn't that…"

"Yomi's domain," he finished for her, his head tilted down to an affirmative nod. "Although, it's supposed to be extinct as of now. The last of the Yokuboshi was spotted five hundred years ago, and had never been seen ever since. But as you already know, our current predicament dictates otherwise."

"So, you're saying that someone somehow got their hands on this flower that was believed to be… no longer in existence?" she asked in a soft voice, a frown coming to marr her forehead as she earned another confirming nod in return. "Koenma-sama thinks, well, he says that according to the information he and Hiei received, that an old nemesis of yours… might be involved."

"Perhaps that is the case," he agreed as he casted his gaze down to their hands, his bigger fingers about a few inches away from her lithe, tender ones. He looked away, focusing his eyes to the leaves flowing with the bone-chilling breeze outside the slightly open window. "Considering that the culprit knew that I was on a mission to retrieve the Mirror of Darkness, and even plotted the correct timing to… inject the drug into my blood, one would assume that they had been watching me for a long time and that I had been the target from the start. It would be appropriate and of course, logical, that Koenma would suggest that they know who I am, and seeing as they've put me in quite a bind, they undoubtedly hold a deep grudge against me." His voice was calm, almost emotionless, but Botan could see the muscles on his back flexing as he leaned forward to bring the sheets up to her stomach; his body language relaxed, but frigid.

She blinked as she felt the covers gliding up her form, allowing her lower part to no longer be exposed to the cold air. Tentatively, Botan shot a questioning glance at the fox.

He smiled, locks of red hair swaying from side to side as he shook his head. "For the sake of my sanity," he answered her unspoken inquiry, ogling with emerald eyes dancing in amusement as the girl blushed beet red at his choice of words, before nodding her head. Although, Botan didn't fully comprehend his reason.

"I still don't get it though…" she murmured, fingering a strand of white on the mattress and acutely aware of the pout she was probably sporting on her face. "I mean, it's not like we've never had sex before-"

A groan; loud, almost dripping with suppressed desire, suddenly resonated in the room, cutting short her sentence. "Botan, as much as I'd love to indulge in another round of mind-blowing sex with you, today isn't much of a good time. Besides," His eyes flashed dangerously at her, flecks of gold peeking through his bright emeralds before reverting to their original colour, "if you keep talking like that, I'm afraid I'll lose control of myself and make you bend over right here, right now." A growl, feral and husky, rumbled from the back of his throat, before he inched closer towards her and cupped two fingers under her chin, a devilish smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Or would you like that?"

Botan's lips parted in half surprise, and half with the intent of uttering something out as a response. But, words were not formed, and she quickly clamped it shut again, swallowing a lump in her throat. A shiver racked down her spine, causing her to turn away from the fox's piercing, lustful gaze. Over the weeks, she had come to realize that Kurama had two sides of him; the calm, mild-mannered and cool Reikai Tantei member who never took a moment without seriousness, reserved, quiet, and distant, and also the passionate, deliciously lustful fox demon who wasn't afraid to show her how much he desired her, his words hot and voice seductive, arousing her everytime the dirty talk came out of his full lips. It scared her, yet flattered her and exhilarated her at the same time that his urges were obviously focused on her, so much so that he seemed to be lapsing back to the demon he once was more often than not. But, the warning hung in the air; tense, uncomfortable and almost _painful_ , for some odd reason, and one glance at the look in his eyes told her that today was not the day to push him over the edge.

"And I came here to gain more information from you," she finally found her voice, her throat strangely yet unsurprisingly dry, "so that would not be wise."

His irises seemed to soften then, and for a moment, he seemed somewhat like his usual self. A smile curved on his lips, his fingers eventually releasing their hold on her chin. "And you came here to gain more information," he echoed, voice somehow lower than expected, his gaze blank, almost as if he was speaking to himself more than to her. One shake of his head, and he was back to normal. "Perhaps another time," he swore, not only to himself, but also to her, "when you're ready."

Her back straightened almost immediately. "I'm always ready for you," she said in an almost inaudible mumble, but she knew he caught her words quite clearly, "but yes, you are right. Perhaps some other time." And she hesitated for a moment, but then looked at him straight in the eyes. "So… what else can you tell me about this Yokuboshi?"

There was a doubtful look in his emerald orbs, almost as if he was uncertain of her ability to handle his true self, but it quickly dissipated, gone in the instant she directed the conversation to a more relevant matter, leaving her, once again, wondering if he hadn't done things that weren't just her imagination.

"The side effects," he spoke, the tone in his voice curt, almost as if he was a clerk speaking to a customer, "can and will lead to death if one orgasm is not reached within a day…" He trailed off, his brows creasing before he shook his head. "Apologies. You already know that. I'm not sure… why I'm not so… attentive today," he finished slowly, his gaze fixing on her face before darting downwards.

But, Botan _knew_. She could feel him studying her plump breasts, the look in his eyes so hungry it reminded her so much of a man starved without any food supplies. With one hand, she brought the sheets up to her bare chest, trying to grant the fox some peace of mind. It wasn't as if she didn't enjoy the gape, but she was aware that he was acting this way due to the influence of the Yokuboshi, and that he was trying hard not to take her then. A part of her craved to feel him inside her again, stretching her with his cock, but another part of her that remembered the silent warning he gave her earlier quickly squashed that urge.

"Er… and?" she prodded when the redhead did not elaborate more, watching and squirming uncomfortably on the bed as he blinked slowly, almost as if snapping out of a daze.

He seemed somewhat relieved, but it was only for a milisecond, and the expression was swiftly replaced by his usual poker face. "Right. Early symptoms include poisoning, severe bleeding, the paralyzation of the body, and… perhaps a high fever." He paused momentarily. "For human victims, it will bring to the stopping of the heart, directly ending with death."

Botan's eyes grew wide at that. "Human…?" she murmured, before it hit her. Human. Kurama. In the body of Shuichi Minamino. And even though he was a demon, he was also a human. If the poisoning and those other terrible things didn't cause the end of him first, the fact that he had a human heart would. "Then if you don't cum in a day, you'll…"

"Yes." He nodded, casually, almost as if he was talking about a light subject. But, Botan could tell. Just from the spike of his energy, she knew the idea terrified him, if only for a little. "I will die, probably before the other symptoms start to appear."

Resolve suddenly pooled in Botan's determined orbs. "I won't let that happen."

He smiled; a real, gentle and grateful smile. "Thank you, Botan. I know you won't." But then, he sighed, finally giving in to his urges as he took ahold of her hand, bringing it to his lips and placing soft, open-mouthed kisses on each digit. His irises moved upwards to fixate on hers. "Thank you, though I can never say it enough, for doing this for me. You are… very kind."

Botan's cheeks flushed at that moment; not because of embarrassment, but because inwardly, she realized that while she _did_ agree to this out of concern for his well-being, most of her just went for it because she'd wanted him. For a long time now. But, she smiled, keeping that tiny detail to herself, before she felt him grab her by the shoulders, and pulled her into a final kiss, almost like goodbye.

"I suppose this is my cue to leave," she said as she got off the bed and went to put on her clothes, pausing as she tugged her pants upwards, zipping it but leaving it unbuttoned as her eyes caught her shirt. Shredded, with no buttons to hold the front. She turned to look at Kurama, and already, he was extending his at her.

"Take mine," he told her. "I'll make it up to you later."

She smiled, whispering a thanks to him before bending to her bra, clutching it and sliding it on her shoulders. Kurama was staring at her again, but for some reason, this time, it was out of fondness. The almost loving gaze made her insides fizzle, and she whirled her head to the other direction, hoping that he didn't hear her heart thumping loudly in her chest. Sliding on one sleeve after the other, Botan started buttoning up Kurama's white dress shirt, the article of clothing hanging loosely around her shoulders and reaching to the middle of her thighs. A growl of approval and she peered at the fox again. He was obviously enjoying the view.

Botan tried not to seem to anxious as she tucked a strand of her blue mane behind her ear and gave him a half smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kurama."

She observed him putting her vibrators back into her purse before handing it to her. Their fingers brushed, Kurama smirking as Botan's smile broadened. "Of course. I'll be looking forward to your visit."

She nodded, and with one wave of her hand, bidded him farewell, before heading for the door and closing it behind her as she exited the room. Kurama's raised hand hovered in the air for a moment, his smile attached to his lips before it wavered and the hand slowly felled to his lap.

A pause—

—then he slammed the back of his head gently against the headboard.

That was too close. One wrong move, and he would have probably lost all self-control. Granted, he'd lost most of that since the beginning of this whole ordeal. But, there had been a thin shred, a single strand of supremacy, a force that was holding him back from completely consuming her. He knew he could break her, he knew he _would_. And though she had said she wouldn't back out no matter what, he needed to make sure that he wouldn't scare her off before revealing his true self to her.

She was too important to him, and he couldn't afford to lose her.

* * *

A swoosh, the curtains flew, a blur of black, and then—

"You reek of her."

—came Hiei's disgusted voice.

The fox closed the book he was reading with a thud.

"Hello, Hiei," he greeted with that charming smile on his fair complexion, wisely choosing to ignore the fire demon's comment. "You didn't come to visit me once for the past couple of weeks, I was starting to worry if I did something wrong." That was a joke, Hiei knew, Kurama knew, and the former rolled his eyes.

"Everything's wrong with you," Hiei snorted, before taking his usual seat on the windowsill, "and why the hell should I see your sorry ass, anyway?"

"I don't know, because you miss me?"

"Not likely." A smirk curled at the edge of the fire demon's lips. "How's your captivity here in Reikai, by the way?"

Kurama gave out a light shrug of his left shoulder. "Quite fine, I suppose. Although, I wish they would allow me to wander around on my leisure time."

A black eyebrow rose to disappear into Hiei's hair. "They don't let you out?"

"Unless I have to go to the bathroom, no, not really."

"Why? Does that mean you're not going to school either? What about your human mother?"

"Yusuke told her I woudn't be home for a while for some charity work." A short pause. "And apparently, Koenma fears the risk of me getting frisky around human females," the fox replied with a hint of a smirk on his features, baring his sharp fangs in the cold room. "He says I'll probably break them into half."

"Which you will," Hiei retorted almost immediately.

Another shrug. But, Kurama's smirk seemed to widen. "Only if I don't hold back, in which case, I still doubt they can handle me." He parted his lips to blow out a column of breath, watching as a tress of red hair that was led astray swayed before going to join the rest of his bangs. "Obviously, you don't care about me. You clearly didn't come to secretly check up on me, and find out why I am being prisoned."

"Heh." Crimson irises rolled in slight irritation. "At least, you're not in an actual Reikai prison."

"Touche."

"Besides, _you_ were the one who sent me in to investigate a few things. So, you can't exactly blame me for being unable to spend some wasted time to gaze upon your pathetic face."

The redhead grinned, emerald orbs tinted in humor, seeming to laugh at Hiei's words. "Again, touche." The quirk on his lips faltered as his features grew fierce, eyes becoming firm and serious. "So? The information?" he asked, extending out his right hand.

Hiei threw a look at him, before throwing him a brown folder. "Everything's in there." There was a short pause. "He's alive."

"Kageyama?" Kurama flipped through the pages in the file, eyes skimming over the words. "Obviously, it's written here. Where did you find it?"

"Don't ask," Hiei growled, earning a quirked red eyebrow in return. But, the fox decided against probing, knowing that whatever the method the fire demon used to get his hands on this valuable source, he was at least thankful for his help.

He nodded his head. "Alright, Hiei. I suppose I owe you now."

"Yeah, well, not that surprising, since you owe me a lot anyway."

"As do you."

"Hn, _so_?" Kurama eyed as Hiei crossed a leg over the other, his arms clasping before he laid them behind his head and went on, "Why did you lie to the woman?" he abruptly questioned, causing green eyes to blink before narrowing into slits.

"You mean Botan," he spoke, voice even, "and no, I didn't lie to her. I just… kept her in the dark over a small detail."

"Surely, she must have noticed," Hiei countered.

"Perhaps… perhaps not." A soft sigh erupted from Kurama's lips. "With each passing day, I feel my control slipping."

"Due to the effects of the Yokuboshi, correct?"

"Yes." Kurama ran a hand through his hair, for some reason growing impatient. Probably at himself. "I couldn't tell her, Hiei. That by having sex everyday, although it will prevent from the possibility of an upcoming death, it would strengthen my desires for her, that… my ability to assert authority over my own urges is gradually disappearing." His features were stoic, impenetrable as always as he transfixed his gaze on the clock ticking above the door. But, his eyes were turning dark, irises becoming slits and breathing becoming slightly labored. "I almost did it, Hiei. She said something she shouldn't have, and I had felt the seeds in my hair twitch, I almost summoned my vines… and I nearly… nearly…" and he audibly gulped, "… let Youko take over."

That caused Hiei's whole form to turn into a rigid line, and he turned to look at the fox with slightly broad eyes. "Youko's surfacing?"

"Yes, little by little, day by day."

The fire demon seemed to pause, both to allow the information to sink in and to consider something else. "What did she say?"

"Pardon?"

"You said she said something she shouldn't have," Hiei explained, voice holding an edge of exasperation, "What was it?"

"Oh." There was that blank look again. But, Kurama's pools of emeralds remained clouded into a dark murky green still. "I was trying to cover her up. She was naked- god, she was so beautiful, Hiei. But, I couldn't look at her for too long. She was making it harder for me to resist. She let me, but she didn't understand what I was trying to accomplish. She said that… that it wasn't as if we hadn't had sex. She thought that _just_ because of that, that would mean I wouldn't lose control just from the sight of her bare before my eyes."

Silence suddenly engulfed the two demons; Hiei's stoic face slowly but gradually being replaced with a startled, mingled with a sense of ridicule one. "That's it? All it took was that, and you just…" Hiei trailed off as his Jagan eye glowed from behind the bandana covering his forehead, his eyelids fluttering close as he tried to concentrate on the fox's thoughts.

Kurama smiled. Knowing that Hiei was reading his mind. But, letting him do it regardless. "Well, it seems clear that I'm standing right over the very edge. So, like what you're seeing?"

Hiei's nose scrunched up in disgust. His Jagan eye stopped glowing, his eyelashes flicking open to fixate a deadpanned stare on the redheaded fox who seemed to be sporting a cheeky grin on his countenance. "You repulsive creature."

A laugh tore out Kurama's lips. "What did you see? Me tying her up with my veins, the thorns pricking into her skin and drawing out blood? Or…" The grin wavered from his mouth, reducing into a tiny smirk as he cocked his head to the side, "was it just me making her squirt all over again as I take her harder and harder and harder…"

"Stop." Hiei made a noise that sounded oddly, humorously similar to a whine. "Too much information."

The smirk disappeared from his lips, which formed another smile in just a moment later. " _You_ were the one who chose to read my mind, mind you. Now we all know I have serious issues in my head, so you should probably refrain yourself from doing it again."

The fire demon wasn't sure whether he should laugh or cry. "This topic is making bile come up my throat. Let's talk about something else."

"Like what, Hiei?"

"Like what you're planning to do with Kageyama now," Hiei stated, voice dry, "You are going to kill him, right?"

"Not without thorough analyzing, of course," Kurama answered, "but yes, yes I am."

"Are you sure he wouldn't do anything to her? To the ferry girl, I mean." Hiei frowned, trying not to make it sound as if he was worried about Botan. "Surely Kageyama must know of the… relationship you share with her."

"Kageyama wouldn't use others for his own benefit. If he's really planning to kill me, he's not going to do it by taking someone hostage. If anything, he'll try to make me miserable without involving anyone else," the redhead retorted simply, "unless they know of his identity and he decides to butcher them in fear of drawing unwanted attention. Which is why I'm not planning to tell Botan."

"Ha! Quite an evil mastermind with principles, isn't he?" Hiei rolled his eyes. "Wonder why you and him were ever partners in crime."

"Yes, well, it didn't take me long to betray him, nonetheless," Kurama murmured with a tart, almost bitter smile attached on his face.

"It's Yomi all over again."

"Not really. _Yomi_ got blinded, _Kageyama_ , on the other hand… well, I simply thought he died."

"Yes, of course," Hiei responded with sarcasm heavily dripping in his voice, before allowing a serious expression to take over his features once more. "So, you're going to deal with him alone? No Reikai?"

"No Reikai." Kurama shook his head. "Botan would find out."

"You'd go through such lengths just to keep her from harm's way?"

"Yes," a whisper was the fox's answer, "I care for her, after all. She is a friend."

At this, Hiei arched an eyebrow. " _Just_ a friend?" he asked; though it sounded more like a statement than anything else.

Emerald eyes turned to peer his way. "What is that supposed to imply?"

The fire demon shrugged his shoulders, but the smirk on his lips begged to differ. "Drop the stupid façade. I've noticed the way you look at her. You harbor what humans call _feelings_ for her."

Kurama's shoulders tensed, before visibly slouching down. His mouth pulled upwards to outline a smile. "Got caught red-handed, huh? Apologies, I've been out of practice." His gaze darted to the file still in his hands, absent-mindedly fingering the edge of a page. "You didn't read my mind?"

"Sometimes." Hiei smirked. "But, that was in the past; your imaginations aren't as wild as they are now. You used to dream of marrying her, having a family with her… and the sex, well, let's just say it's not as rough."

"I still do." Kurama's voice was low, almost like a hushed whisper. Hiei quirked an eyebrow at him. "Marrying her, I mean. And the softcore sex, too. Well, most of my thoughts now consist of… well, not so gentle sexual intercourse, so the tender version has been deemed quite rare."

"Hn." Hiei abruptly got up from the windowsill. "Yes, well, because Youko Kurama a.k.a Shuichi Minamino can only so much gain satisfaction from vanilla sex."

"Blame my biorhythms."

Hiei snorted, before preparing to leave. "I'll do that."

* * *

 **A/N:** Hmm, I get the feeling this chapter's pretty boring. Not a lot of interesting stuff, I think. T.T Just a bunch of explanation and banters of Hiei and Kurama. Er, hope I did well, anyway. And leave a review whenever you have the time!


	6. Chapter 6

**Euphoria**

 **Summary:** She could see the desire pooling in his emerald orbs as he looked straight into her eyes and in a voice, low and husky, said simply, "I want you."

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

 **Chapter 6**

Botan was late.

Kurama turned on the bed, sweat glistening his forehead in the dimly lit, air-conditioned room. He had his eyes shut tight, body hot and shivering as he tried to ignore the heat building in his loins. But, he couldn't. The Yokuboshi was omnipotent; not having sex for too long was feeding his hunger to the point it was starting to drive him crazy. The last time he'd seen Botan was… when? _Approximately seventy hours_ , he answered his own question, berating him as he realized he'd been counting.

Botan wasn't usually this late.

For the past weeks, she had been usually on time – at least, punctual enough that he wasn't being driven sex-craved by the aphrodisiac. The longest he'd ever been separated from her was six hours, and even then, he had been feeling testy. Much more when there was still seven hours left before the symptoms would begin to appear. Botan would surely arrive sooner or later, though, he knew. She wasn't going to abandon him that easily.

But, he needed something… someway; _anyway_ to relieve his carnal desires, lest he'd unintentionally hurt her if she were to come.

Trailing his hand downwards to the waistline of his pants, Kurama began to fumble with the belt, taking it off with a haste that was understandable at this point. He pulled the zipper down, images of Botan, naked and writhing underneath him further arousing him as he had it unbuttoned in a second, a breathe of relief escaping his lips as he felt his own fingers traced beneath his boxers, wrapping tightly around his shaft before pulling it out. Thumbing the tip for a few moments, the fox then began to pump up and down, the occasional groans of pleasure rumbling from his throat mixing with the sounds of Botan's soft whimpers ringing deep in the recesses of his mind. He bucked his hips, locks of red hair matted to his face as he stroked himself faster, harder, rougher, imagining his hands running across a certain ferry girl's skin, teasingly gliding down her stomach until it reached the destination it intended just between her thighs, fingers rubbing her before slowly delving into her cavern. God, he needed her. It wasn't enough, no matter how hot and quick of a pace he managed to find. He _needed_ her. Needed to kiss her. Needed to touch her. To be inside her, fucking her so hard she wouldn't be able to stand, much less walk back to the ferry girl's quarters.

 _Botan… Botan, Botan…_ he whispered in his thoughts, eyebrows creased in frustration as he envisaged himself spreading her legs, the head of his cock teasing her clit before he buried himself hilt-deep into her, hard, without any warning. The pleasant sound of her gasping his name in surprise was almost too real, spurring him on as he slammed his cock into her.

"Kurama…"

His name, passing her lips, rolled off her tongue perfectly; soft, almost lullaby-like, reminding him strangely of a hushed whisper in the cold breeze. It sounded so close, almost as if she was standing right by his bed.

"Kurama?"

His name… _No, that's not just my imagination!_

His eyelids shot open in shock, his body moving to sit upwards on the bed, back lightly slamming against the headboard as he whirled his head so fast he almost thought it would snap.

His emeralds were met with wide amethysts.

"B-Botan…?" he murmured, voice too low for his taste. His hand slowly unclenched itself from his cock, which still stood hard against his stomach, precum dripping from the tip and trickling down the vines outlining his manhood. He was vividly aware of her stare as her gaze drooped downwards between his legs, the view making his shaft tilt impossibly upwards. He cleared his throat, and was somewhat disappointed as she looked up almost instantly, pools of amethysts still slightly broad, albeit dark, the lust clouding them into a murky magenta baring her obvious arousal.

He curled the edge of his lips upwards to somehow form a smile. "When did you get here?" he asked, before shuddering as he was abruptly conscious of the cold air uncomfortably hitting his erection.

Her tongue darted out through her slightly parted lips, licking at her mouth, before disappearing yet again into its original spot. He suddenly felt the urge to stick his fingers in there.

"I-" she paused to swallow a lump in her throat, "-just got here. Your window was open and…" she trailed off, hands flying to her skirt as she clenched her thighs together to somehow prevent herself from growing wet, only to let out a low moan as the action merely added to her arousal.

He noticed the way she was rubbing her thighs together, and couldn't resist it when the quirk on his lips turned predatory, forming into a coquettish, crooked grin. "I've been waiting," he said, nonetheless, pretending not to acknowledge her obvious desire as he reached a hand to grab hers, purposely allowing his knuckles to brush against her skirt, dangerously close to her sex. The subtle touch caused her to nearly jump in surprise, disappointment practically radiating off of her as she felt him pull away, the hand that was clutching hers bringing it to his warm mouth. "Where have you been?" he questioned, voice muffled as he let his tongue out to languidly trace her fingers up and down, licking them one by one and flicking against her nails.

She shivered, underwear growing damper as she allowed his ministrations to draw her into a partially pleasure-induced state. Her eyelids threatened to flutter close, but she swiftly flicked them open again, blinking as if trying to snap out a trance. His irises – peridot in the moonlight illuminating a fluorescent blue in the shadows of the dark room – locked with hers, the heat in them so intense she nearly squirted there and then.

"I was…" she spoke as she suddenly recalled he was asking her a question, "I just finished ferrying a soul. There… was a massacre in Makai, and it took me longer than… Oh…" she tried to finish, but her words were reduced to a sigh as she felt him nip the tip of her pinky finger, the feel of his grin broadening on his lips against her skin never lost on her.

"I see," Kurama responded curtly, as if he was ignorant of the effect he had on her. But, of course he wasn't. He knew all too well. He released her hand, eyeing as her half-lidded eyes blinked before refocusing on him at the feel of his fingers pulling away. He stared at her, and she stared back, wondering if she should… if she could…

Tentatively, she casted her eyes down to his erection, her trembling lips slowly parting to form out words. "Can I… Can I touch it?"

He quirked an eyebrow at her in slight surprise, clearly not expecting to see her be so upfront about what she wanted. But, that wasn't enough. He needed to hear more. "Touch what, Botan?" he asked softly, cocking his head to the side as he feigned innocence, despite the naughty thoughts running wildly in his head.

The ferry girl blushed, catching on to his game, but refused to indulge as she averted her gaze to the floor, fiddling nervously with her thumbs. "Y-you know…" she stammered, voice soft before she peered up at him again.

"Know what, exactly?" His emerald orbs tinted in amusement, but the lust lying dormant in them was unmistakable. "You have to be more specific."

Botan shut her lips tight, eyes pleading with him. But, he refused to back down, and she sighed a moment after, knowing he wasn't about to let her slide that easily. "Your…"

"My…?"

"Your cock," she quickly uttered, "I want to touch it."

A grin curved at the corners of his mouth then; devilish, almost animalistic as it bared his sharp fangs at her. "My what?" His voice had dropped a few octaves lower, almost whispering with its tone, seductive, "You mean, my hot, throbbing dick?"

 _Oh, god!_ Botan screamed in her mind, acutely self-conscious of her warming cheeks coloring a bright rosy hue. But, she nodded. "Yes."

His grin seemed to broaden ever so slightly. "Say it then," he commanded, voice soft but firm.

"W-what?"

"Say it," he repeated, this time a feral growl building in his chest before erupting from his throat, "Tell me you want to touch my hot, throbbing dick, and maybe I'll consider."

"K-Kurama…"

"I'm waiting."

The ferry girl's mouth felled open, before sealing shut again. Her wide eyes gaped at him, before they darted to his shaft and back to his face. She gulped, turning ten shades darker as she summoned a sufficient amount of courage and shamelessness needed to speak. "I want… I want to touch your hot, throbbing dick." She expelled a shaky sigh, a heat flashing in her irises to match the heat in her voice. "I want… to make you come, squirt all your hot seed into my mouth."

Though at first he was taken off guard at the addition of a second sentence, the surprise immediately died down, taking its place was need as he snarled, grin faltering from his lips as he threw his legs over the edge of the bed and grabbed ahold of her hand, ignoring her startled yelp as he tugged her down to her knees and placed it on his cock. It twitched in her hand, and he groaned, the warmth of her fingers causing him to throw his head back.

Botan was shocked as he pulled her down, her face now merely inches from his thick manhood. The surprise dying out her system a second later, the girl swallowed as she felt him enclosing her fingers around him. She didn't move for a moment, until she felt the hand covering hers pulled away, and she slightly rubbed up and down, slow and gentle at first, before gradually quickening in pace as he began to buck his hips into her hand, desperate for more.

"God, yes, just like that," he panted out, back flopping to the bed once the pleasure became almost too unbearable. Her hand was warm, a direct contrast to the cold air surrounding them, and it served to leave goosebumps at the back of his neck. He tilted his head down to fix his dark orbs on her, watching her as she ogled the veins pulsing on his cock with a fascination that made him want to ram it into her tight mouth. But, he held back, merely thrusting in time with her pumps for now.

Botan kept running her fingers up and down his shaft, a breath escaping her as she tightened her grip around his cock slightly, a shiver of delight traveling down her spine as he let out a loud moan at the gesture. She couldn't take it anymore. She needed more, and he obviously did, too. Slowly leaning forward, the ferry girl blew a hot breath over the head of his shaft, noting his hands gripping the sheets and the muscles flexing on his thighs. She stroked the base of his cock as she brought her tongue to the head of his member, tasting his pre-cum for the first time. It was bitter, with a mingling salty taste, but she didn't exactly mind it.

Using his right hand, Kurama settled it on her head, fisting around her hair as he felt her trace his manhood with her tongue, from the base to the tip again before wrapping her lips around it and sucking softly. Pleasured groans escaped from his parted lips, his cheeks slightly tinted pink and eyes shut close as she took more of him into her hot mouth, going as far as she could and overriding her gag reflex as her hand rubbed what she couldn't fit. He loved the warm, slick feel of her mouth as she began bobbing her head up and down, not bothering to go slow as she sucked him vigorously, desperate to drive him over the edge.

"Yes, that's it, suck it. You're so good at this," he hissed, unable to contain himself any longer as he bucked his hips into her mouth, her startled cry muffled and sending delicious vibrations along his member, further increasing the pleasure tenfold. "Take it all in. Make me come…" he sighed, losing himself in her and the sensations as he continued to ram himself into her, a growl of approval rumbling from the back of his throat.

His words spurred her on, and she sucked harder, her head bobbing faster now as his loud, drawn out groans filled the room, further encouraging her.

Kurama panted, gasping for air as the ferry girl stimulated his cock to its maximum point. He was so close, so close… Tugging her hair, and ignoring her yelp of surprise, he began to pull her head up and down his cock in time with the brute thrusts of his pelvis, forcing himself down her throat, as he grunted and growled. His abs and sack tightened, her name escaping his lips as the heat at the pit of his stomach burst out into a white, blinding pleasure, his seed shooting out in long spurts into her mouth. Caught off guard by his abrupt orgasm, the ferry girl promptly pulled his shaft out of her mouth, a pop resounding in the room as he continued to shoot out his essence, some of it landing on her face and clothed chest, but she swiped them all away and swallowed every drop dutifully, eyeing as his thick shaft grow limp in her hand.

"D-did I do okay?" Botan asked as she stood up from the floor, watching as he caught his breath and removed her hand from his member and held it in his, pulling her down to him before whirling them around, his toned body now lying on top of her lithe form.

"Remarkable," he responded with a provocative smirk, reaching down and tilting his head to the side to lick her earlobe as a reward. He pulled away to study her, the hungry look in her eyes causing his dick to instantly grow hard again, poking at her soaked panties. He growled, rocking his erection against her covered sex, damp against the warm, soft flesh of his shaft. A moan tore out her lips, and she rubbed up and down against him, breasts heaving up and down in time with her ragged breathing.

Stopping abruptly, he watched as her eyes that had drooped close flicked open to meet his gaze, questioning him of his sudden halt in his ministrations. He grinned; the nearly cheeky quirk of his lips spreading from ear to ear.

"Stay still," he told her. "Don't move until I tell you to."

She instantly made to protest. "But…"

"Shh, just be a good girl and do as I say," he hushed her, burying his head into the crook of her neck as his hands skated to disappear under her skirt, callous fingers reaching up until the tip of his blunt nails scraped against the waistline of her panties. He pulled it off of her in one swift motion, gliding it smoothly down her long, porcelain legs. He grabbed his cock, lining it against her entrance and running the tip over her swollen clit as he sat up, his knees under hers as the ferry girl grew gradually restless at his teasing.

"Please," she whispered, hands gripping his mane, and fingers hooking around his locks of fiery red. "Please."

He grinned deviously. "Please what?" he asked, rubbing the head of his member between her lips, and groaning as her juices came spilling out onto the mattress. "Beg."

Her cheeks were flushed bright red; either it was from embarrassment or arousal, or both, he didn't know. Nor could he afford to care. "B-but, Kurama…" she tried to say, but he cut her off with a feral growl.

"Beg for it," he repeated, voice gruff and husky, his hot breath fanning over the flesh of her throat before he pulled apart to look at her, his eyes dark and predatory. "I want to hear you beg."

Botan looked to the window, embarrassed to meet his piercing emerald orbs. But, he would have none of that, swiftly grabbing ahold of her chin and forcing her to face him.

"Don't you dare," he snarled, "I want to see the look on your face as you plead for my cock."

"Kurama…" She heaved a sigh, and growing tired of him simply teasing her slit, she arched her back, attempting to pull him into her. But, he quickly grabbed her hips, slamming them against the bed and keeping her still.

"Didn't I tell you not to move?" Kurama's eyes flashed dangerously at her, flecks of gold peeking through his long, thick eyelashes. "Well?" he insisted, impatience and desire dripping heavily in his voice.

A heavy pant escaped her. "Oh, god," she groaned, "please, Kurama, please… fuck me… put it in… I-I can't take it anymore…" she pleaded, and he growled at her words.

A dazed smile played on her lips, a breathe of relief falling out her sweet mouth as she felt him bury himself deeper into her, one inch after another of his thick member sliding into her tight hole. The fox threw his head back, an exhilarated groan rumbling from his throat as her walls engulfed him completely, control slipping as he allowed himself to drown in the warm, tight pleasure of her.

"Kurama," her call of his name brought him out of his pleasure-induced state, and he looked down to her, "please, move." The girl seemed so adorable, lying there with that cute rosy hue coloring her cheeks and her blue eyebrows furrowed into a deep frown of frustration. He smiled, and nodded his head, pulling out almost completely before thrusting into her again.

His pumps were gentle, slow, and it wasn't long before the two of them began craving for more. Botan's free hand traced his pecks, down to his abs before moving to his back and claiming his right hip. With a small squeeze, she encouraged him to go faster, harder, deeper, and rougher, and he was more than happy to comply, picking up speed as his thrusts turned rough.

Suddenly Kurama slammed his hands on either side of her head, his lower stomach now rubbing against her clit with every roll of his hips. The bed creaked with each thrust, and her breasts bounced in rhythm. His hand found her thigh, hooking her knee around his waist and she quickly hooked the other one up, squeezing him tight into her. A thin layer of sweat beaded his forehead as he made her moan and moan again in ecstasy, the sounds becoming louder in volume and frequency as he drilled harder and faster into her. He halted for a moment only to adjust his position, trying to find that sensitive spot within her, and realizing he found it a second after as she let out a loud, startled cry of his name.

The white, hot bubble within her core was growing to unsustainable heights, sending waves after waves of pleasure to rack through her being with every powerful thrust of his hips against hers. His moans were louder, too, animalistic grunts escaping his mouth into hers as he claimed her lips in a bruising kiss.

"Kurama, I'm going to cum," she groaned into the lip-lock, words slightly muffled as she tugged aggressively at his hair, her hips bucking wildly against his. The fox ran a hand down her side, brushing over her breast before cupping her ass, the soft mound filling his smooth palm as he gave it a loud smack. The feel of the soft flesh bouncing against his hand was almost too good, and his pace impossibly quickened.

"Yes, cum for me, don't hold back," he growled, pressing his forehead against hers. The pressure inside was too much and Kurama didn't let up with his relentless pounding. It grew until Botan fell silent, completely awe-struck by the shivers of red hot pleasure given by being fucked by him. The deity writhed, gasping for breath wherever she could until the pressure fell apart, first in her core then everywhere else. A short shout exploded from her lips followed by a harsh slew of moans. She bucked against him, unable to control her shaking as she came around him. Kurama fucked her still, driving his hardness from hilt to tip into her heat prolonging her orgasm for as long as possible.

Before long, Kurama bucked himself to the hilt and shot his seed into her, catching her lips in a quiet groan. He pulled himself out of her, rolling onto his side and wrapping an arm around her waist. The two struggled to catch their breaths, and when they did, the fox leaned forward to plant a gentle kiss on her sweat-covered forehead.

"I'm sorry for making you wait for so long," she murmured, running her hands along his toned back and feeling the muscles flexed underneath her touch. "Were you upset?" she went on, a tinge of fear evident in her voice.

He smiled then, and shook his head. "No, I wasn't. Frustrated, yes. Upset, of course not." A soft, contented sigh was expelled through his lips as he drew her closer to him, feeling her head drop to his chest. "Can you stay?"

She looked up at him in surprise. Never had he asked her for this before, and she couldn't help but wanting confirmation that this wasn't just a dream. "Stay?"

"Yes," he uttered, "Here, in my arms."

Botan blinked, before reaching over to stroke his left cheek softly with a hand. She watched, a smile curling on her lips, as he leaned into the touch, nuzzling his cheek against her palm.

"Okay."


	7. Chapter 7

**Euphoria**

 **Summary:** She could see the desire pooling in his emerald orbs as he looked straight into her eyes and in a voice, low and husky, said simply, "I want you."

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

 **Chapter 7**

Black eyelashes fluttered open to reveal dark blue orbs, white bangs swaying in time with the bone-chilling wind as the tall figure of a man sat up from its lying position on the branch. His gaze refocused on the blue-haired ferry girl giving a Reikai Tantei member with black hair held back by green gel a brief scolding. The girl went on to indignantly yell at him, only to huff and cross her arms as the boy merely shrugged her off with a wave of his hand, brushing her off as if she was a mere speck of dust in the air.

 _Heh._ Pools of blue narrowed at the form of messenger of Reikai. _The fox's tastes has clearly changed over the years._ Youko used to go for alluring women who were strong, aggressive and radiated with an aura of sexiness and power. And although the woman who stood in his line of sight was admittedly a beauty without compare, _she_ was weak, fragile, and a creature of Reikai's origins, nonetheless. And she gave off this air of innocence, mixing with sexual curiousity to go along with her perky and bubbly exterior. And even though the man found her scent undoubtedly tempting, he considered her as nothing more but an annoyance; even the sound of her voice making his cat ears flatten against the top of his head in slight irritation.

 _What does he see in her?_ Kageyama stood up fully from the branch, one eyebrow quirking up to disappear into his hair as he proceeded to study his former partner's object of interest. He continued to stare blankly at her, and even as he tried to find something special about her, he just couldn't. She was nothing more than a mere ferry girl, and it struck him as odd and irking that the once cruel and ferocious Youko Kurama would be enamored by this kind of _girl_.

He spent years searching for Youko, revenge and anger burning his sides with a sense of loathing that was boundless without a core, his intents filled with nothing more but to fight and kill the fox for the knife he had stabbed through his back. But, when he did, he found the once silver-haired demon to be nothing but a simple human boy, his strength paling in comparison to the power he once contained; collared and leashed by his love for his human mother and his friends, tying him down to the miserable life he'd adopted in Ningenkai. Kageyama had spent months devising a plan, looking for a plant that he could use against Youko. He had stalked him, observed him from the shadows, the years of training to improve his skills granting him the ability to mask his demon energy, hiding his presence even from the usually attentive fox demon. Then, he had initiated his plan, injecting the drug of the Yokuboshi into his skin and watching with glee as the calm male became increasingly restless with each passing day as the aphrodisiac coursing through his blood began to influence him more and more. But, there had been an obstacle; a miscalculation. He had assumed Youko would ignore the urge, or even drown into a frenzy, allowing _him_ to take advantage of situation and defeat him once and for all. But, that was not the case.

 _This_ ferry girl had came along, with the will and determination to help him through his predicament. Kageyama was not a fool, he was not blind, and he knew the girl wanted Youko, try as she might to keep the desire subtle. She'd given herself willingly to him, and didn't seem to be terrified of the prospect of the former thief breaking her; something they both knew would undeniably happen sooner or later. It was obvious she harbored romantic emotions for Kurama, and though at first Kageyama thought it was one-sided, the fox proved otherwise. Youko was better at anyone else at masking his feelings, but the circumstances had allowed him to let his own carnal urges to come into surface; his own attraction, emotionally and physically, towards her causing the cat demon to scrunch his nose in disgust. Youko Kurama never felled in love, but once he had, he felled for a puny ferry girl? Heh. The mere idea of it was laughable.

It would be easy enough to use her as someway to push the fox faster to the path of defeat and death, but he wouldn't. Doing so would go against his code, and more importantly, his sheer desire to beat Youko with his own strength. Not saying that he would hesitate to kill her if she found out who he was, of course, but that was unlikely to happen.

A thought occurred to him, causing a smirk to curve at the edge of his lips as he eyed the ferry girl summoned her oar and flew back to Reikai, not forgetting to remind the Reikai Tantei of something Kageyama didn't really care. His blue eyes flashed red, before reverting back to their normal colour as a low chuckle reverberated from his throat.

Perhaps it was time to pay his old friend a visit.

* * *

"Yes, yes." Kurama's voice resonated in the room, the breeze coming from the open window causing tresses of crimson to sway gracefully back and forth. A smile was evident on his smile and in his tone as he continued to listen to the person speaking from the other line through the cellphone. "Yes, mother. I will be just fine. I'll be home soon, I hope. Yes, yes, I'm eating well. And I'm not pushing myself too hard. Don't concern yourself over me. Just take care of yourself. What about that road trip you planned with father and Shuichi? Maybe you should go, to take your mind off your worries." The birds flying to the tree branch outside his hospital room reverberated in the midst of his fits of soft chuckles. "Yes, mother, I'll be _fine_. Don't worry. I have to go now. It's late, you should go back to bed now. I miss you too. Yes, yes, I'll be back soon. I promise. Okay. Goodnight, mother, I love you."

He waited for a moment as his mother responded to the affectionate farewell, bidding her a good sleep once last time before pulling the phone from his ear and hanging up. His smile felled then as guilt crept up his skin, coiling like a snake around his heart. Not for the first time he wished he had Yusuke's iron, unwavering grit so he could finally confess to his mother as to what he was, to tell her everything he had been hiding from her. This ordeal was prolonging for such a long time, he would have to hurry and settle things so he could go back to his mother. It didn't sit well with him, to bluff like this, whilst knowing he would break his promise and return to her later than what was warranted. But, this would have to do. He didn't like the idea of lying to her, but worrying too much would bring damage to her health. He needed to put her mind at ease, if only for a little.

"Done talking to mommy?"

The voice, mocking with an underlying tinge of hatred, was surprisingly familiar, causing his emerald orbs to turn as wide as saucers. He quickly spun around, the seeds in his red mane coming to life as he caught blue irises that belonged to one he had perceived as long dead. The fox sat up from the bed, bracing himself against the wall as he shot a sharp glare at the demon lying languidly against the wall beside the window, indicating his path of entrance.

"Long time no see, Youko," he spoke, a cocky smirk tugging at his lips as he eyed the redhead casting him a doubtful, wary stare.

"Kageyama," he replied, voice grim, and his green eyes narrowed, "I see that you're alive."

"Not that you don't already know that, right?" Kageyama responded as a matter of fact, speaking almost all too knowingly for the fox's taste.

"What do you think you're doing here?" Kurama growled, low and menacing, growing impatient at the demon's casual and relaxed posture and way of speech. "Do you wish for an early death?"

"Not exactly, no. Considering your strength as of now, I would think that I have the advantage so… what's the point?" Blue orbs narrowed, before flashing at him in a way that reminded him too much of a predator ogling its prey. Kageyama was staring at him as if he was meat, as if he was a mere powerless human, and it served to make his blood reach to an unbearable boiling point.

"Then, what the hell do you want?" His voice roared, rising up a notch as a rose petal appeared out of nowhere, slashing the cat demon by the cheek.

Kageyama arched a white eyebrow at the blood coming out of his wound and trickling down his jawline, grinning toothily before going to wipe the red substance off his skin. Amusement danced in his pools of blue, causing the fox to grit his teeth. "Feisty. At least a part of you hasn't changed," he said in a feigned wistful tone, ignoring Kurama's question as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Calm and collected, but also cold and belligerent. Quite a combination, I must say, but it has suit your for as long as I could remember. That was also one of the reasons I chose you as a partner, and though you have betrayed me, and been reduced to a weak human boy, I must admit that I am glad to see that you still retain a bit of your old self, Youko."

"I don't go by that name anymore," Kurama snarled, teeth growing into sharp, glinting fangs as his dark irises became slits. "And I have long since abandoned that way of living. I am Shuichi Minamino now, called Kurama by my allies, and a member of Reikai Tantei."

"Heh." Kageyama's smirk faltered from his lips, reduced into a single thin angry line. "Of course. I nearly forgot you had long since hit rock bottom. Working for Reikai? I didn't think _you_ , of all people, would stoop that low."

Kurama's energy seemed to spike at his words, almost as if he was preparing to attack. But, he didn't. He wanted nothing more than to rip the demon's throat out, make him suffer pain that was far worse than death, but he wouldn't. This was not the right time to provoke Kageyama into a bloody battle, as much as he would like that. He was still too weak, the difference in their powers almost overwhelming. If they had to fight, Kurama needed to be in his fox form. He needed Youko. He knew Kageyama wouldn't stand a chance against his other half.

"That ferry girl," the cat demon suddenly spoke, the direction the conversation was heading to succeeding in seizing the fox's attention and he bit back a growl. "Botan… was it? Quite the pretty little creature, isn't she?"

"Don't you dare lay a finger on her," Kurama warned, voice dripping with bloodlust as he clenched his hands into fists, trying to resist the urge to deliver a punch to the demon's cheek. "I will kill you if you do."

"Ha, you think you can afford to do that?" A snort was his response. "Never fight someone you can't beat. I believe that's what you've taught yourself, and also, what you've told me countless times in the past." Blue irises narrowed his way, sending a cold shiver down his spine. "Besides, you and I both know I will not touch her unless I have to. If I want to kill you, I'll do it without using a dirty trick such as taking her as a hostage," he softly chided, a growl rumbling from the bed of his throat.

A grin; bitter and taunting, curved at the corners of Kurama's mouth. "What about subjecting me into the strong influence of the Yokuboshi? Isn't _this_ dirty as well?" he mocked, throwing his head back to study the demon with disdain. "I never knew hypocricy includes as one of your personality traits."

"Aw, was that supposed to hurt my feelings? Sorry, too bad. People can change," Kageyama chortled with a mockingly sweet voice, watching in amusement as the emerald orbs staring back at him hardened. "If we really want to talk about getting dirty here, why not we shift the limelight to you? Your attempt at trying to kill me with the Ojigi was obviously well-deserving of first place above all other dirty tactics you pulled."

"I don't regret it," Kurama retorted without any hesitation, the look in his eyes sinister as his smirk broadened.

Kageyama's right eye seemed to twitch. "I can tell. Though I never hoped you did, considering your heart is as cold as frozen ice!" he hissed, the anger crossing his features a direct contrast to the expression of complete composure on the fox's countenace. He hated this. He hated how Kurama could remain so calm, even as his strength and power had far exceeded his. The redhead didn't say anything, merely pinning an uninterested gape on him as he fought to collect himself, breathing ragged before a smirk tugged at his lips.

"Well," He placed one hand on the window, one of his knees attaching to the windowsill before he spared his former partner a final, fleeting glance, "let's see how long you'll last."

Then, in a brief, black blur, he was gone, leaving a cold breeze in his wake.


	8. Chapter 8

**Euphoria**

 **Summary:** She could see the desire pooling in his emerald orbs as he looked straight into her eyes and in a voice, low and husky, said simply, "I want you."

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

 **Chapter 8**

" _Greedy, lusftul, merciless. You really_ _ **are**_ _a demon."_

 _A chuckle. Gold orbs glinted in the shadows. One clawed, bloody hand reached up to clutch at the pearl white neck before him. A feral grin._

 _"_ _Yes, aren't we all?"_

Emerald eyes flicked open, the fox waking up with a start as he sat up from the bed, tugging the covers harshly down to his waist. That dream… No, it was a _memory_. A recollection of his past. Fighting to regain his breath, Kurama was acutely aware of the thin layer of sweat covering every inch of his body, sticking his clothes to his skin as he ran a trembling hand into his hair, unable to control his shaking.

A familiar surge of energy, and he looked up to fixate his gaze to the door.

"Kurama?" Her voice, dripping with concern, caused a strange force to pull at the strings of his heart, and his features softened before he crooked his a finger at her, begging her closer. The girl complied after a hesitant pause and slowly took steps, advancing towards him with that deep frown embedded on her forehead. Her loose blue hair swayed from side to side as she walked up to him, before flopping down on an unoccupied space on the bed.

"Botan." He managed to pull a half-smile, though his gaze was clouded, almost blank. "Apologies. I fell asleep. Have you been here long?" he asked, curling a lock of her hair with his index finger as he eyed the furrow of her brows deepened considerably.

"No. If I had, you would have woken up a long time ago," she replied, her voice soft, almost inaudible in the midst of the sound of the cicadas crying from outside his window.

"I see…" he murmured, slowly pulling away, and watched as the tress of blue unhooked itself from his digit, falling to join the rest. The red-orange rays peeking through the slit of his curtains casted an ominous glow on her face, shading her bright amethysts into a burnt sienna, and his smile expanded just a tad bit. "Back from ferry duties, I assume?"

Slowly, Botan nodded her head in response. She still goggled him with that bizarre impression on her physiognomy, and not for the first time did he realize she wasn't looking at him, but… _through him_. She was reading him and he was uncertain of how he should take it. On one hand, he was startled, and on the other hand, he was actually _proud_. This woman was his. And she had the peculiar gift of seeing through people and into their hearts, her specialty enlarging even to the point it allowed her to seek under his poker face, finding his true self and dragging him out to the surface. Perhaps, he thought, that was one of the reasons she had managed to accomplish what many had failed; touching his cold heart with her warmth and making him fall for her when he least expected it.

"Were you…" Her voice was firm, breathy steady, and this managed to break him out of his reverie, the long, hard look she was giving him seizing his attention, "… having a nightmare?"

"You can tell?" he responded with a rhetorical question, a chuckle rumbling in his chest. "You saw, didn't you?"

"… Yes," she replied hesitantly, even reluctantly, "You were making quite a racket. Tossing and turning in bed like that- was it one of those bad dreams again- well, not really dreams since you're really just dreaming of a memory—oh my, I'm babbling again, aren't I?" she cut herself short, her serious expression dropping to allow a look of embarrassment to cross her features. The endearing image made him let out a loud, wholehearted laugh.

"It's fine, you're cute," he told her, one hand stretching out to cup her tender cheek in his smooth palm, a real, gentle smile teasing at his lips as he eyed her shoot him a fake-glare, the effect wearing off with the scarlet shade she formed on her cheeks.

"You've been getting pretty bold with your compliments lately. It's unlike you at times," she rejoinded, her voice casual, and her eyes laughing.

His smile broadened ever so slightly as he felt her warm hand reach up to touch the one that was holding her cheek, bringing it down to her lap before entertwining their fingers together. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Hmm, not really," she said with a slight smirk, before the quirk of her lips swiftly faltered, taking its place was a small frown as she studied him with firm purple orbs. "Are you pent up? I mean, if you want to…"

He shook his head, even as the heat at the pit of his stomach pleaded for relief. "Yes, but not yet." He paused. "Can we just have… a small talk first? It feels like it's been a while since we've done that."

An apologetic yet wistful grin appeared on her face. "Yes, you're right. It's been just sex… and sleeping after it, right? We've never had normal conversations before, at least not like the ones we used to before this happened." A frown came to rest on her forehead, marring her feminine features. "I kinda miss that, to be honest. But, I never stayed too long because I didn't think you would like that. Especially since this whole ordeal was strictly… well, business, except in a sexual way. Not including last night, of course, but even then, we just lied there on the bed, quietly, without a word…" she trailed off, frown deepening as she realized what she was saying. Oh, good lords, what on earth was she hollering on about? Never once did she think this… but, now that the words left her, ringing in their ears… the revelation hit her… a part of her heart did feel that way…

But, this wasn't good timing. Kurama didn't feel the same way for her. To him, she was just a friend. And even _this_ , this talk of missing their old chatters were nothing passing the line of friendship. It struck a needle to the middle of her chest as she mused over this, but she quickly tried to squash the negative emotions taking residence in her heart- yet to no avail… It spread, causing a nauseating feeling to build in the core of her stomach.

"I'm sorry," she choked out, forcing out a laugh, "I don't know what's gotten into me. I get swept off easily by my feelings—"

"Is that what it is to you?" Kurama's low, whisper-like voice cut through her words like knife through her butter, but her lips remained parted. The fox seemed to sport… a bitter smile of some sort on his countenance… and it made her feel as if something was coiling around her chest. He seemed sullen, sad almost. And for some reason, a voice at the back of her mind nagged at her that she was the reason.

"W-what do you mean?" she eventually managed to speak, though she stumbled over her sentence.

"Was everything up until now… just business to you?" he asked, tone sounding as if it didn't belong to him as the peculiar smile spread on his face. "Well, I wouldn't blame you. You _are_ a professional, after all, and… so am I." His voice had dropped a few octaves lower, just as his head downcasted to his lap, the red tips of his mane covering his eyes and hiding them from her view.

A sense of fear, mingling with a wave of panic, overtook her senses as she saw his head droop low. Kurama seemed… almost like a child, and she couldn't help but want to make it up to him, because, for some reason, she felt as if this was her fault.

"I-I didn't mean it like that," she quickly went to assure him, her arms waving frantically in front of her, "I mean, it's not like I don't like you or anything, or that we're not friends or anything, or-" What the hell was she blurting out?! She wasn't making any sense here!

Botan took a second to cool down, regaining herself as in a soft, almost fearful voice, she uttered, "I mean, I- I really like you. Like, I mean, uh… I really, really like, _like_ you… Can you understand?" she asked, and as her words resonated in the cold air, the fox finally looked up, the action revealing his wide, surprised pools of emeralds. Her cheeks turned bright red, and for a moment, she wanted to halt herself. She was scared. Scared of his answer. Scared of how he might react. Would he push her away? Would he say he was sorry? The more she thought about it, the more it terrified her. But, she couldn't. Wouldn't stop. For years, she had kept her feelings hidden, and she had even been contented just with watching him from the sidelines, merely keeping things simple and friendly between them.

But, at some point, she realized it wasn't enough. Not nearly enough after all those years she'd spent waiting for him to show some kind of sign; a hint that he might have reciprocated her feelings. But, there was none. And even when he gave her those sticky glances from time to time, rarely did she ever catch him in the act- and even when she did, he had his face turned away so quickly she'd wondered if it had only been her imagination. After some time, he had her convinced that he didn't feel the same way. After all, he treated her the same way as he treated the others. None of his gestures were ever special, or even worth mentioning to be romantic. And she had been okay with it, or at least she believed so.

It took her some time before it hit her. All this time, she hadn't been satisfied enough to merely remain as friends. All this time, she had been trying to convince herself that she'd be fine even if he didn't love her; and he didn't love her. But, that was all a lie. A false truth she'd managed to create subconsciously in attempt to prevent herself from an emotional breakdown.

After all, somewhere in her heart, she had _hoped_. Hope for him to see her as a woman, not just a girl he could lump in with his female friends. Hope for him to somehow… belong to her… But, was that even right? She might possess him physically, but the heart was a different matter. Wasn't this just… wasn't all this just sexual? To her, of course it wasn't. But what about him? How did _he_ see her?

"I love you," she had murmured without her own realization the words that she had failed to utter countless times before. Words she never had the courage, never could think, that she could convey. But she just did. And no sooner did she, the regret was creeping up her skin. This was it. He was going to reject her. He was going to tell her that she was nothing more but a friend. That he didn't like her that way. Botan bit back a sob. But, this was okay. Confessing had taken a load off her mind- off her heart. This was okay… wasn't it?

"Sorry, I," she tried to voice out, but her words were drowned by her weeping as tears formed in her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks in rapid waterfalls. She swiftly went to wipe them all away, hands trembling and body quivering, "don't know what came over me. I know you don't like me like that, but I… I just…"

"Botan," he called her name, and that served to silence her. She peered up at him through watery pools of amethyst, trying not to focus on his eyes but on his forehead. He didn't say anything for a while, then… he sighed (?). "How should I respond? This kind of thing isn't exactly my expertise," he mumbled, sounding almost impatient with himself. His words caused her to blink; the oddity of them making her trail her gaze downwards to his face… and was that a blush she caught on his cheeks?

The room was dim, and the sun was setting, so it might as well but her imagination… but, it wasn't. It was real. But, was that even possible?

Kurama seemed to consider something, but Botan could tell that underneath the emerald orbs devoided of any emotion, there was an underlying tinge of… satisfaction, almost as if he was in joy. But, was that even possible.

Some time passed, seconds ticked by, and then… he looked at her straight in the eyes. "I suppose… if words cannot convey how I feel… perhaps actions will suffice," he spoke, more to himself than to her, and before she could form a response, he had taken her by the shoulders, bringing her closer before crushing her lips with his.

Botan froze, before panic and reality reared its ugly head, sending her pushing and shoving against him. But, he wouldn't let her go. His hold so tight, it was almost vice-like. How could he? No sooner than she had just confessed her love to him, cried in front of him, he-

No…

That wasn't it.

This kiss was different. It was gentle, his lips were pliant, and he held her so tender, almost as if she were fragile, almost as if she were glass.

Almost as if he _loved_ her.

Then, when he broke off the lip-lock, eyelids fluttered close for a moment before he slid them open again, she realized, it was true. He _did_ love her. Her tears felled down her cheeks more freely now, almost uncontrollable as the overwhelming glee overtook her senses. He kissed them all away, pulling apart only to give her a loving gaze; the affection in his pools of emeralds was unmistakable, the yearning and happiness making her heart race before he brushed a strand of her hair from her eyes.

"I can't say them now," he muttered, "Those words. But," He looked at the ceiling for a second, before looking back at her, a smile now stretching on his lips, "this is enough for now, right?"

Botan, letting out a soft laugh, went to wipe the remnants of her tears away before nodding her head. It was more than enough. More than she could ever wish for. She didn't think he was capable of loving her, but here they were, in a scene she had only deemed possible in a fantasy. But, this was real. He was real. It wasn't a dream.

Kurama blinked as she grabbed ahold of his hand, bringing to her cheek, which she tenderly rubbed against the back of the appendage. "I'm glad," she breathed out in relief, her eyes shutting close as she drowned in the feeling of his warmth sapping through her skin. She only opened them once she felt his equally hot lips making contact with hers, hard and demanding, before he pulled apart.

"So now you are mine," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her and drawing her close, "and I am yours."

She nodded. "So what's going to happen now?"

"Now?" he echoed, blinking as if he didn't understand and took hold of her shoulders, gently pushing her off so he could look at her face. "Now…" he mumbled, as if thinking. Then, another smile found its way to his lips. "Now, things will only get more interesting."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "More interesting?" she resounded in a questioning manner, pinning him with a curious stare. A shiver involutarily traveled down her spine as she caught the smile turning into a grin; predatory, lustful… his needy side surfacing.

"The sex," he paused to kiss her squarely on the lips, "will only get better and better from this point on. Especially now that I know how you feel, that's only going to make me lose control even faster and easier. And," His eyes flashed at her, flecks of gold peeking through his vibrant emeralds before disappearing as swiftly as it came, "just a fair warning, but I'm insanely possessive."

She let out a short, girlish giggle at this. "Good, 'cause I am, too. And I'm really greedy, by the way," she added, lightly poking a finger at his ribcage. She burst out into a laughing fit as he feigned hurt, faking a wince in return for her 'attack'.

"Ah, seems to me we have a lot in common," he retorted, tone playful and irises equally mischievous. Another laugh, louder this time, escaped her then.

"Funny."

"I know," His voice was low, like a hushed whisper, as he cupped her cheek in his palm and pressed his forehead against her, a hint of a smile evident on his full lips, "I'm working on my jokes. You like men who can make you laugh, don't you?"

She pulled apart to touch his face with both hands, looking firmly into his eyes as she told him, "I like you just the way you are, as funny or not-so-funny you can be."

He blinked, one, delicate red eyebrow shooting up in surprise. "Was I ever not humorous?"

She gave out a light shrug in return, but the grin appearing on her face, spending from ear to ear begged to differ. "Take a guess," she retorted teasingly, mouth parting as she stuck her tongue out at him.

This, however, brought more effect on her than him as he quickly leaned forward, wrapping her tongue around his lips, and sucking on it softly. Botan whimpered, feeling a familiar heat building in her loins. Kurama lightly nipped at the tip of her tongue, reveling in the jerk of surprise he earned from the deity before he gave the wet appendage a final, firm lick and pulled away, watching with a satisfied smirk as it disappeared into her mouth, the dark gaze she was sending him making his body hot and bothered.

"Hmph," she sounded off indignantly, but the effect clearly wore off as her cheeks flushed a rose colour, "you're incorrigible."

"Yes, but charming, regardless."

"Conceited," she threw back at him, pinning a deadpanned stare on his smirking features, before smiling, "but true."

"I knew you'd agree."

"Why wouldn't I?" she murmured, rolling her eyes. "I kinda enjoy this side of you, you know. The pervy side."

"Is that so?" Amusement dripped heavily in his voice, as his eyes seemingly laughed at her choice of words. But, with one long glance, one could see the underlying desire pooling in his peridots. "Well, fortunately for you, you'll be seeing more of this side as of now." He scooted closer to her, catching her off guard as his hand dropped to her inner thigh. Ignoring her startled cry of his name, he trailed it upwards until he found the wetness soaking her panties. Grinning as his fingers stroked her at an agonizingly slow pace through the linen fabric. "Especially now." He nipped at her hair, pushing her down to the bed as he slid her underwear aside, his free hand hiking up her skirt so he could get a full, better view of her slick core.

He licked his lips as his gaze downcasted to her pussy, her juices coating her pink lips and swollen clit making his mouth water, his eyes filling with hunger before he peered back to her features. The girl was clamping her mouth shut to prevent any moans from escaping her, chewing on her bottom lip in a futile attempt to silence herself as his fingers began to move, rubbing up and down her tight hole.

Oh, that would change soon enough.

Kurama grinned, and without warning, used his thumb and index finger to rub her clit before gripping it in a firm hold and pulling, tugging on it with brute force. Botan's eyes shot open in a mixture of pleasure and shock, her mewls finally spilling out her lips as the fox mercilessly worked her pussy.

"You're so cute, Botan," he whispered in a breathy pant, voice low and husky as he leaned down and tilted his head to the side, his hot breath fanning over her ear as he added, "so much so that I want to eat you."


	9. Chapter 9

**Euphoria**

 **Summary:** She could see the desire pooling in his emerald orbs as he looked straight into her eyes and in a voice, low and husky, said simply, "I want you."

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

 **Chapter 9**

"Should I… stop?"

Kurama's voice was rich, smooth; deep and husky, with that infuriatingly seductive smirk playing on his lips. Then, in the midst of her whimpers of pleasure, she managed to cast him a brief glare. Her hips bucked against his fingers, just as the digits removed themselves from her clit to rub between her nether lips. Her juices slipped and spilled against his fingers, and an ethereal moan escaped her as the fox bent down to bury his face into her chest, nuzzling his nose against the soft mounds and letting out a soft growl of approval.

"Y-you know… that's not… what I-I want…" she finally panted out her response, barely aware of his free hand working the yellow blouse off her form.

"Yes, indeed," came his reply, accompanied with a low, rasping chuckle, "though I really hope to hear it." His fingers trailed to her small back, unclasping her bra and that was when she finally realized that her top half was bare. The cold air in the room hit her flushed, porcelain skin and she couldn't help but shiver. Vividly, she could feel his nails teasingly scraping against her flesh as he ran them up and down her right arm before sliding the strap off her shoulder, the left one quickly following suit before he discarded the undergarment on the floor.

"Just so you know," Botan started, a half cry leaving her just as his hot breath fanned over the top of her left breast, "you won't have me begging tonight. _This_ time, it's _your_ turn."

His eyes, which had been busy studying her perky breasts, swiftly flicked up to her face, gold flashing in the pools of emeralds as his gaze met with hers. Botan managed to pull the most provocative grin she could, reveling in the half growl she earned in return. Another chuckle rumbled in his throat; except this time, it sounded… oddly dangerous… and the smirk on his features turned predatory; almost animalistic.

"I'll assume that was a challenge-"

"It was."

His irises narrowed at her all of a sudden, but whether it was due to her cutting off his sentence or because of the words that left her, Botan was uncertain. One thing that she knew for sure, however, was that it sent a delicious shiver to rack down her spine.

"As much as I love the idea of you subjecting me to the submissive role," he spoke, a glint in the room indicating his bared fangs noticeable in her view, "I'd much prefer it if I was in charge." And with those words, he slammed his lips against hers, his fingers abruptly delving into her dripping pussy. Her startled cry was muffled in the kiss as he rammed the digits into her with a ferocity that forced her hips up and down the mattress, her parted lips allowing his warm tongue to intrude into her mouth, streaking over everywhere before flicking against hers.

Botan couldn't contain her shaking as the multiple sensations racking through every cell of her being caused her mind to drown in the pleasure. Her tongue stroked against his in a fevered kiss, saliva trailing down her chin as he suddenly broke off the lip-lock to attach his lips on her neck, teeth nipping at her pulse point as he added a third finger into her slit, fingers moving faster and harder now as her moans increased in volume and frequency.

His fingers curled and went deeper inside her, seeking for that sweet spot within her that she favored. A loud mewl suddenly erupted from the girl's throat, confirming that he found it and he thrust, hard enough to send her head lightly slamming against the headboard of the bed. His mouth descended to her chest, planting hot, open-mouthed kisses on the soft flesh before wrapping around her nipple. He suckled on the rosy bud, sweat beading on his forehead as he felt Botan's walls clamped tightly around his fingers, her juices spilling out more than ever now and soaking the white covers. Parting his lips, his tongue darted out to swirl around her nipple, teasing her, before flicking roughly against it. His fangs accidentally brushed against the small bud, the gesture causing her to arch her back, a pleasure-laced-pain moan escaping her lips.

"Are you close?" Kurama husked against her breast, giving her nipple a final firm lick before focusing on the other one, "You're squeezing my fingers rather tightly."

Botan could feel the smirk growing on his lips as he continued to vigorously suck on her rosy bud, her hips bucking wildly against his fingers in time with his brute thrusts. Her mouth parted open to answer, but the words died down in her throat as the only thing that left her was a string of sharp gasps. Her nipple felled out of his lips with a wet pop as he fixated his dark gaze on her face, the quirk at the corners of his mouth broadening ever so slightly.

"Want me to stop?" His fingers slowed their ministrations as the words formed on his lips, the pace so agonizing to her that she couldn't help but let out a small whine of frustration. Her brows creased, her cheeks tinted pink, and she shook her head.

"P-please," she whispered, "don't stop. Not now." She was so close; this wasn't fair.

"You wish for me to keep going then?"

Her teeth grinded against each other; the irritation brewing in her as she shot the grinning fox an admittedly endearing glare. "Yes, I want you to keep going," she firmly told him, resisting the urge to ride his fingers as she grabbed him by the collar, and propped herself up on one elbow, looking at him straight in the eyes, "so shut up and just give me what I want."

His eyes grew wide at her tugging him by the collar, and more at the words that she uttered. The surprise died out his system soon after though, taking its place was unbearable arousal as he gave her a smothering stare, his emerald eyes clouded in a murky green of lust and need for the ferry girl. A smirk tugged at his lips, his voice matching the heat in his orbs as he uttered, "Feisty, aren't you? I like that." And without waiting for her to respond, he pushed her down to the bed again, abruptly removing his fingers from her core, grinning as he earned a savage curse thrown his way in return. "Relax, Botan. You'll get more, you need not worry about that," he swore as he brought his fingers to his lips, his eyes on hers as his tongue darted out to lap at the remnants of her juices on the digits.

Botan's cheeks warmed up, turning bright scarlet as she continued to eye him languidly sucking on his fingers, his eyelids fluttered close as he savored the sweet taste of her, the bitter aftertaste melting on his tongue before he flicked his eyes open again, looking at her only for a brief moment before casting his gaze to her soaked pussy. He licked his lips, both hands reaching out to spread her thighs wider to grant him a better view of the jewel between her legs. Her arousal dripped from between her nether lips, trickling down her thighs and buttocks and down to the mattress. Her clit, red and swollen, was throbbing with need. The fox swallowed a lump in his throat as he felt his mouth water at the erotic imagery presented in front of him. She was so beautiful.

"Kurama…" she called when he didn't make a move, but was unable to utter out any more words as his head suddenly disappeared between her legs, his warm pair of lips almost instantly attaching to her slick core. A startled gasp rumbled from her throat, her pelvis bucking involuntarily into his face as he planted hot, open-mouthed kisses all over her slit and around her sensitive nub. "O-oh, god, yes…" she panted out, a dazed smile playing on her lips as her hands found his head, fingers seeking solace and a place to hold on to in his locks of vibrant red hair.

His tongue came out between parted lips to taste her, the mewl of pleasure he managed to elicit from her spurring him on as he traced her pussy with the wet appendage, licking at her entrance before flicking against the hardness of her clit in a rough manner. Animalistic grunts began to escape from his lips as he grabbed her waist, merely holding and not pinning as he felt her thrust her hips into his face, her juices soaking the flesh of his countenance. He pulled away merely to open his lips wide, before he enveloped her dripping cunt into his mouth, shaking his head from side to side as his tongue firmly licked at her clit even though her pussy was still lodged into his hot mouth. A harsh slew of moans left the ferry girl as her back arched, her rosy nails curling as her fingers tightened their grip around his strands of fiery crimson, waves after waves of unbearably delicious pleasure coursing through her lithe form as she fought to retain her sanity. But, Kurama knew no mercy; he continued to eat her out vigorously, a loud sucking sound resonating in the room as his mouth released her slit, his tongue going to delve into her tight walls. The wet appendage slid in and out of her in deep, fast thrusts, swirling and stabbing into her with brute force and technique that left his mouth sore almost immediately.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Botan gasped out, the single word repeatedly leaving her lips like a soft, broken mantra. Her thighs wrapped around his head, keeping him there and drawing him impossibly deeper into her as she continued to ram herself against his rutting tongue. It was too much; the pleasure was all too much. She needed more, needed to feel her release.

As if sensing her desire, Kurama intensified his actions, his tongue curling and stretching inside her as his pace quickened and his index and middle fingers skated from her left inner thigh to enter her womanhood. Botan's breathy, long, drawn out moans turned into sharp gasps and whimpers as the fox slammed the digits into her quickly, his tongue matching the speed of his fingers as he continued to work her pussy. Her walls clamped tightly around him, and his eyelashed slid close, a throaty groan building in his chest and erupting from his lips as the girl's legs tensed, the heat within her finally reaching a fevered pitch as a hot, blinding pleasure assaulted her, her orgasm overriding every other senses. Kurama didn't pull out until her cum finished shooting out in long spurts into his eager, anticipating mouth, some of it landing on his face as he went to lick at her slit, swallowing every drop of it greedily as if he hadn't drunk for days. Drawing away from between her legs, the fox reached tender fingers to dip into the remnants of her essence on his features, swiping it all away before putting the cum-covered digits into his lips, sucking sounds reverberating in the cold, dimly lit room as he continued to drink in her pleasure.

"You came so hard," he groaned, the adding of a feral growl rumbling from his throat sending a shiver down her spine as he leaned forward until his mouth was hovering over her ear. "What a dirty girl."

Botan blushed at his words, but bit her lip to stifle a grin from coming to form on her face as she grabbed the back of his head, tilting it towards her to bring his mouth down on hers. "It's hard not to… when you're so good at this…" she muttered into the kiss, breathing ragged and heavy, though not as heavy as his as she broke off the lip-lock to attach her lips to his jawline, tracing upwards until she reached his ear. She stopped briefly to part her mouth, her tongue reaching to flick at his sensitive earlobe, nipping before tugging at the piece of skin. She smirked as she felt his body stiffen against her, knowing how much it turned him on when she did that. Kurama growled, low and dangerous, and clutched a fistful of her blue mane into his left palm, forcing her head back as he drew away slightly to study her with smoldering, lustful orbs.

"Tease," he said, his tongue licking at his lips as he envisioned her bound against the headboard, his cock thrusting into her with a newfound aggressiveness as a 'punishment' for that little stunt she pulled earlier. He shook his head, storing that image for another time as he claimed her lips with his. "Do you want it?" he asked, his hips moving closer to trace her entrance with the tip of his shaft for emphasis.

The quirk on Botan's lips faltered, reducing to a silent, open-mouthed moan as she nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yes, please," she whispered, wrapping her legs around his hips as he continued to tease her with the head of his cock, rubbing up and down between her folds. She mewled, throwing her head to the side as tears of pleasure mixed with needy frustration sprang at the back of her eyes. "P-put it in…" she panted out, body shaking as she felt him lean down to lick at the thin layer of sweat beading the smooth skin of her throat.

He then pulled apart, one hand lying flat against the right side of her head as his other hand skated downwards to his thick shaft, pushing the tip of the throbbing organ slightly into her. He grinned as the girl let out a breathe of relief at the feel, pulling away for a second only to drive only the head of his cock into her tight hole once again. He repeated this for a few times, until she was muttering needy words under her breath, desperate to take all of him into her, to feel him pounding into her battered pussy with a force that would leave her legs trembling the next morning.

But before he could give her what she wanted, a sharp, pricking pain at the middle of his chest interrupted his ministrations, and he stopped dead in his movements, his eyes growing wide as he felt his heart stopped, drummed again, before stopping once more. _Shit_. He knew what this meant. He'd felt this before. He shook his head. No, he had to fight this. He couldn't let _him_ take control. But already he was beginning to feel the muscles in his form shifting, tissues splitting before growing and attaching once again as streaks of silver started to colour his red mane.

Botan blinked, furrowing in worry as she felt the half-human pull away from her. For a moment, she wondered if he was teasing her, only to realize that wasn't the case as a pained groan coming from the fox reverberated in her ears. Her eyes grew broad in alarm, and arousal forgotten, worry and panic brewed in her as she sat up almost instantly from the bed, going to somehow help the redhead who, by now, had his bare back facing her.

But, her hand halted abruptly in its tracks, hovering just an inch from his skin as she finally noticed Kurama's figure becoming taller, brown complexion turning pale white as his human ears disappeared, taking their place was fox ears that sprouted from the top of his head. Recognition danced in her pools of amethysts as the revelation hit her: no, Kurama wasn't in pain… He was changing… Unsure if she should be afraid or concerned, the ferry girl simply watched, wide-eyed, mutely as a tail grew from the top of his hips, swaying from side to side and brushing against her waist. She shivered involuntarily at the small, ticklish sensation that followed the gesture, slowly backing away to allow the fox some more space as the transformation continued to take place.

She was vividly aware of Kurama's tormented groans subsiding, before gradually fading into thin air as his bare form was once more covered with a white tunic and equally white pair of pants. The fox ears at the top of his head twitched slightly, as if hearing the loud, fast drumming of her heart in her chest, a chuckle rumbling from his throat confirming her suspicions as she observed with careful eyes as the demon whirled around to face her, the predatory grin he was sporting baring a sharp, glinting fang at her in the air of tension surrounding the both of them.

It took her a while before she could finally find her voice. "K-Kurama…"

The fox's grin broadened ever so slightly, then he shook his head, locks of silver swaying from side to side as he uttered, simply, the words, "No, not him. I'm Youko."

Her throat was dry, for some odd reason, as she abruptly realized she was sitting there in all her naked glory in front of her lover's other half. Feeling self-conscious all of a sudden, Botan clutched the sheets into her petite hands, bringing the covers up to hide her torso from Youko's view and ignoring the silent amusement that danced in his pools of molten gold as he continued to watch her.

"How did you… er, you know…" Botan said lamely, blushing as the silver-haired demon expelled a low chuckle at her cute demeanor.

"Shuichi," he started as his fits of chuckles died down in the air, replaced with a slightly toothy grin as he threw his head back to study her, "has been growing rather careless as of late. Perhaps it's due to the Yokuboshi, but he's been letting his control slip more easily with each passing day."

She blinked slowly, before creasing her blue brows into a deep frown. "So, was that how you took over?"

"Yes." He nodded. "He's been letting his guard down more often than not, so to be frank, it was only a matter of time before I'd start taking the more dominant role." All of a sudden, he cocked his head to the side, his gold irises staring at her with interest, mingling with slight curiousity as he abruptly asked her, "I suppose I terrify you?"

Botan's eyes widened. And instead of answering, she questioned back, "How did you know?" Although, that was more than enough to confirm his assumptions as correct. He smirked, one ear twitching on his head.

"Your scent," he answered simply, "The smell of your fear. It's intoxicating."

Blood rushed to her cheeks at the last sentence that made out his lips, but she spoke anyway, "I-it's not like I think of you as an enemy." She watched as he arched an eyebrow at her choice of words. "I mean, I know you're still the Kurama I love, but it's just… I mean, you're also still the fox, and that… the idea of being in the presence of such a powerful being like you is…"

"Unnerving?" he finished for her, his grin spreading from ear to ear now as he saw her nod her head in reply.

"A little," she mumbled, uncertain, before will and determination entered her purple orbs, "but I know I can trust you."

At this, he threw his head back and laughed. "Are you sure you should?" he cryptically responded, gold irises glimmering in the moonlight as he ogled her, the heat building in his eyes causing her to blush under his intense gaze.

"I-I'm sure," she answered anyway, without a tinge of doubt or hesitation. She tried to direct the conversation to something else; something that was more relevant. "You said Kurama's been letting his guard down. That… doesn't sound like him."

"Yes, well," Botan was suddenly aware of his form crawling towards her, stopping just as their knees brushed against each other, "he has a very reasonable reason," he told her, grinning at her as she blinked at the feel of his clawed fingers tracing her smooth cheek.

"Reasonable…" the ferry girl tried to say, only to cut herself short as she felt his hand moved to disappear into her hair, his digits running and curling around her silky tresses, before brushing against her sensitive scalp, making her tremble. She shook her head, trying not to let him drown her in the soft, ticklish sensations. "What are you- talking about?" she inquired carefully, lithe, shaking fingers gripping tightly to the sheets covering her body as she felt him scoot closer until her back was against the headboard, his alabaster chest merely inches from her perky breasts.

He didn't answer at once, but his grin widened as his hand found the one that was holding the covers up her petite figure, his pliant fingers silently ordering her stubborn ones to let go. He watched, eyes dark and clouded with lust, as the sheets eventually glided down her form in one smooth swipe. The girl didn't bother to cling to some shred of decency this time, but she was adamant not to look at him, her eyes peering nervously here and there in the room; at everywhere but him.

"He's had a lot on his mind lately," he murmured, tails swishing violently from behind him as he claimed one breast with his hand, feeling the soft mound fill his smooth palm as the deity lurched in surprise at the touch, the moan that he managed to tear out of her lips further encouraging him to stroke roughly until he felt her nipple grow taut against his skin. "Something has been keeping him occupied." He smirked, using his index finger and thumb to pinch gently at the rosy bud, though his gaze was fully fixated on her face, his smoldering gold staring right into her amethyst ones. "Want to know what I'm talking about, peony?"

Botan wasn't stupid. She might be naïve at times, but certainly not stupid. And it didn't take her that long, wasn't all that difficult, for her to realize the hidden meaning behind his words. Then, in a low, almost hushed whisper, she blurted out,

"Me. You mean me."

"Oh," His eyes glinted at her, "so you _do_ know. Very clever. Although, it's not that hard to guess." He let out a low chuckle. "It's hard not to be enamored by you, you see, you can be so… addicting." His fingers abruptly released her nipple, his mouth falling to her breast, kissing the top of the soft mound before wrapping around the rosy bud and he husked against her tender flesh, "Want me to stop?" he asked as he felt her hands pushing against his broad shoulders.

Botan threw her head back, barely aware of the light thumping of her skull against the headboard as one of his hands traveled down to her pussy, fingers rubbing deftly up and down her slick core. Almost immediately, she could feel the pressure building in her stomach, her hips involuntarily bucking against his digits as he continued to stroke her teasingly.

"N-no, that's not it…" she whispered, a breathy pant leaving her lips, "I just… I'm just…"

"Still scared?" he assumed, though he already knew he was correct. His fingers delved into her cavern, and the ferry girl arched her back, his tongue flicking against her nipple before licking around the sensitive nub and his mouth wrapped around it once again, sucking and nipping. "Relax. I'm not here to harm you, but," He pulled apart, her nipple falling from his lips in a wet, resounding 'pop' as he stared at her, the grin on his face seductive as he told her, "I _am_ here to solve a small problem."

His abrupt halting of his ministrations brought her partially out of her pleasure-induced state, and she mumbled, almost inaudiby, "A small… problem…?" She blinked at him, but his hands were already working to remove the articles of clothing he was still clad in.

"You see," His tunic was discarded on the floor, followed by his pants, "although our appearances may beg to differ, Shuichi and I, still do, in fact, share the same body." He brought his hands to her knees, tugging her down almost all too suddenly and ignoring her startled yelp as pinned her down to the bed, his legs nudging between hers. "In which case, that means that the Yokuboshi is not only inside him, but also inside me, and so," He placed a hand of his shaft, drawing it closer to her entrance, "I am still in terrible need for release." He looked up at her, licking his lips. "I'll assume you'll lend me a helping hand?"

Botan's mouth felled open in shock, before she clamped it shut yet again. She nodded slowly, before gripping the sheets as the tip of his cock met contact with her swollen clit. When she casted her gaze down to the throbbing organ between his legs, she almost gasped; realizing that he was big, far bigger than his human half. And he was so thick, too. The size of him nearly had her worried if it would even fit, but the excitement overrode the trepidation, and she spread her legs wider for him.

"Good girl." His hand instantly wove itself into her hair. "Now," He smirked, before slamming his lips against hers, "with that flesh and bones," he whispered into the kiss, "do your best not to disappoint me."


	10. Chapter 10

**Euphoria**

 **Summary:** She could see the desire pooling in his emerald orbs as he looked straight into her eyes and in a voice, low and husky, said simply, "I want you."

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

 **Chapter 10**

"I'm going to put it in now."

Botan's eyelids, ones she didn't even notice had drooped close the first contact his cock met with her slit, slowly fluttered open to peer up at the silver-haired fox. She blinked as his mouth pulled upwards into a tender smile, one she hadn't expected to see from a demon like him. Yes, he was still Kurama, but… she didn't think he could give the kind of look he was sending her to anyone; so affectionate, so yearning. Then he leaned down to kiss her, and all thoughts disappeared from the recesses of her mind. She felt him hooking her legs around his waist, and as a response to his earlier statement, she bucked her hips against him, drawing just the tip of his thick shaft into her slick core. A low groan rumbled from his throat, mixing with her soft mewl as his hands found her ass, gripping the cheeks in a vice-like grasp before delivering a smack at the left one. Her back arched in slight surprise, her hands flying to his broad shoulders as she felt the muscles flex under the smooth skin of her palms.

Then, without any warning, he buried himself hilt-deep into her.

Her eyes widened at the sudden intrusion, a loud, startled cry leaving her lips as she broke off the lip-lock and threw her head back against the pillow. She _was_ right. He _was_ bigger than his human part. He stretched her to the point it nearly hurt, but she quickly forced her muscles to relax, allowing him to draw out of her completely before thrusting in deep inside her once again. He seemed to notice her discomfort, and unexpectedly, looked as if he was holding back for her sake. He kept repeating the same technique over and over, his eyebrows creased in slight frustration as he felt the heat in his loins reaching to a boiling point. This self-control was only going to last for so long, he knew, but he had to make sure she was ready. After all, though he would like to bend her over and fuck her like there was no tomorrow, he still cherished her, and he didn't want to hurt her.

He felt a hand on his cheek; warm and gentle, a direct contrast to the ice-cold air surrounding them. His gaze darted down to the ferry girl, and he saw that she was sporting a smile, as if telling him that it was okay. He continued to ogle the expression on her features, his eyes searching hers as if seeking some sort of lie or permission that he could go on. But, the look on her face was testimony enough. And before he knew it, he was rutting into her in a hot, fast pace that sent her screaming and him gasping for air.

The sound of skin slapping against skin reverberated in his sensitive, ultra-hearing senses as the noise mixed with the creaking of the bed, the headboard slamming against the wall in time with his brute force. His pleasured groans rivalled her own as he buried his head into the crook of her neck, his hot mouth finding solace on the pulse point at her throat. Parting his lips slightly, he gave the spot a soft nip, before forming a track as he moved his mouth downwards to the junction between her neck and shoulder, the fangs poking between his lips scraping teasingly against her skin. Inhaling a deep breath, he clenched his jaw, letting his fangs sink into her flesh hard enough to draw out blood, though not hard enough to inflict that much physical injury on her. A loud gasp was the response he earned in return for his actions, and the fox couldn't stifle a smirk that was threatening to appear on his countenance as he eyed the red liquid trickling down to her collarbone. His tongue darted out to swiftly swipe it away, allowing the salty taste of her blood to fill his tastebuds. He pulled away to study her, smirk broadening ever so slightly as he lovingly touched a finger on the mark marring her skin. She was his now. His mate.

He inwardly chuckled; no doubt Shuichi would be upset about him staking his claim on her first, but not that he cared. And the human side of him would get over it sooner or later; after all, this meant that she didn't only belong to Youko Kurama, but also the human, Shuichi Minamino. And nothing could please them both more than the mere prospect of every male knowing that this woman belonged to the legendary thief, the Reikai Tantei. No one could touch her. No one could even dream of it.

A wave of possessiveness suddenly overtook his senses, and he trailed his hands down to the back of her knees, surprising the deity of death as he wrapped her legs around his shoulders, using this added leverage to drill himself deeper into her dripping pussy, the tip of his erection hitting against that spot within her with each ruthless thrust he gave her. Using one hand to clutch a tight hold around her left shoulder, he used the other one to trace her smooth belly, down to the area between her thighs. He felt her walls clamp tightly around him, a throaty groan escaping him as her back arched to meet his thrusts when his fingers found her swollen clit, rubbing in quick, rough circles as shockwaves of pleasure racked through every cell of her being. Tears cascaded down her cheeks, saliva trailing down her chin as his pelvis hit against her so hard it almost hurt, one thrust harsher than the last.

"Feels… good, doesn't it?" he husked against her ear as he leaned forward to the side of her head, her vanilla scent invading his nostrils and causing his eyes to slide close as he intensified his actions, gripping her clit firmly with with his thumb and index finger as he tugged the sensitive nub up and down quickly. He licked her ear, breathy pants erupting from his throat as the girl let out chopped, euphoric whimpers everytime his hips met hers.

"Yes!" Botan screamed, clinging to him like dear life itself as her fingers dug into his shoulders, her nails breaking through the skin enough to draw out blood. Although, the fox didn't seem to mind it; in fact, it seemed to turn him on and he impossibly increased his speed. If this kept up, she feared he would break her into half. But, she couldn't afford to care. Not when the feeling of him pounding so aggressively into her, thrusting against that sweet spot within her again and again, was so good being compare. "So good, so good! I-I'm gonna cum!" she panted out, her legs quivering and ready to give out, but she tried to last much longer. However, that was proven to be impossible as he only had to give her another couple hard ram of his pelvis against hers before the heat at the pit of her stomach exploded and she unraveled; her orgasm causing her to let out a muffled cry of his name as she buried her face in his neck.

Youko groaned, stopping as he grabbed ahold of her waist and lifted her off the bed.

Botan blinked her half-lidded eyes. "Wait, what are you—" She was cut off as the fox abruptly turned her to the side, the right side of her hips brushing against the headboard now as she gaped at him in slight surprise.

But before she could ask him what was going on, she felt him continue his previous assault, rutting into her harder now as his body demanded his own release. Her words died in her throat, and what came out was a harsh slew of moans as she felt that bubble of flame igniting at the core of her stomach again.

He was not far off; and that made him more desperate as he pounded into the ferry girl hard enough to push the top of her torso over the edge of the bed. Botan cried out in needy shock at the sudden change of position, her heart palpitalting wildly in her chest as she felt another orgasm building up from inside her. She was still so sensitive, but Youko was ruthless, slamming into her with a force that was different than the one he used before, his strength forcing even her pillow to fall to the floor. With trembling hands, she reached for Youko's waist, unsure if she wanted to pull him closer or push him away before she become too lost in the flood of overwhelming pleasure. Tilting her head down, Botan stared at the sight before her; Youko, with his cheeks tinted pink and his mouth hung apart, had his eyes shut close and his brows furrowed in a slight frown as he proceeded to slam his hips against her. She began bucking her own pelvis, meeting him with each thrust in perfect synchronization. He was close, she could tell, and she would do anything to grant him a mind-blowing climax. She forced her muscles to clamp around him like a vice, the hiss she earned from in return from her gesture and the quickening of his speed causing her eyes to roll back into her head. Oh, god, he was so goddamn _amazing_!

"I-I'm close," he uttered as he leaned down to claim her lips. And she knew it just from the lip-lock that he was, the kiss sloppy with all tongue and no technique as their salivas mixed together and trickled down their chins.

"Together," she managed to whisper as her hands flew to his hair, her fingers curling around his silky strands of silver as she deepened the kiss. "Together…"

He nodded, knowing she was about to reach her peak as well. Three more rough roll of his hips followed before they were both driven over the edge; the heat exploding into a white, blinding pleasure as their orgasms overrode their senses. His thrusts grew stagnant as they rode from their highs together, and once he was sure she was done, and he, too, the final spurting of his seed into her signalling his cue, he pulled out, groaning at the loss of warmth but rolling to his side before wrapping an arm around her waist and bringing her closer. The girl expelled a shaky side, lying her head against his heaving chest as the two lovers tried to catch their breaths.

"You're…" Youko started as he managed to collect himself, whirling his head to the side to stare at the girl before giving her a brief, chaste kiss, "just too good to be true."

"Mm-hmm, nice to know that you're aware of that," she kidded, giggling into the lip-lock and smiling as he laughed with her. His fit of laughter subsided soon after though, leaving in its wake a comfortable silence as he cupped her left cheek in his hand and gazed into her eyes with a deep, boundless longing that caused her smile to waver as a blush crept up her cheeks.

"Shuichi… is lucky to have you," he murmured as he planted a small peck on her forehead. The girl frowned, before extending her own hands to touch his face, running her fingers around his hair as if to memorize each strand as she looked straight into his pools of gold.

"Am I not yours as well?" she whispered, though her voice was firm. He couldn't help but smile.

"Yes," he answered, the honest response forming on his lips surprising not only the ferry girl but himself, "but only if you want to be."

Her features softened. "You're both mine," she said in a way that left no more arguments, "just as I am yours. The two of you."

"Well, we're basically the same person…" he muttered, but his smile widened as he felt her nuzzle her cheek against his palm, "but yes, you do belong to us. Do well to remember that," he spoke, the last sentence escaping in a firm, warning tone that succeeded to seize the ferry girl's attention and she giggled.

"I'll be sure I do," she responded, before letting her head fall to his chest as the hand on her cheek left to disappear in her hair. She felt him playing with the locks of sky blue, and couldn't help but yawn as the exhaustion finally overtook her. She tried to keep her eyes open, but failed miserably as her eyelids grew heavy, before fluttering close without her own volition.

A soft snore caused the fox to halt his ministrations as he fixed a baffled gape on his companion. A smile soon crossed his lips as he realized she was asleep, and he tugged at the covers, bringing it over their bodies as he drew her closer, a contented sigh leaving his lips as he felt the warmth of her sapping into his skin.

"Goodnight," He kissed her one last time before he smiled and shut his own eyes, "my love."

And as he lied there, asleep, with her in his arms, for once, Youko felt safe.


	11. Chapter 11

**Euphoria**

 **Summary:** She could see the desire pooling in his emerald orbs as he looked straight into her eyes and in a voice, low and husky, said simply, "I want you."

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

 **Chapter 11**

"You _do_ realize that this is disturbing on so many levels, right?"

Kurama's eyelids flid open, though no surprise was evident in his pools of emeralds. A smile crossed his lips as he sat up from the bed, his arm unwrapping from Botan's waist as he fixed his gaze on the teenage form of the Reikai prince standing before him. His face the perfect image of grace and composure that Koenma pondered briefly if the fox was just masking his shock over his sudden appearance. But as he saw the quirk on the redhead's lips enlargening ever so slightly, he realized that, no, the former thief had even been _anticipating_ a visit from him. Of course. Koenma should have known better. Kurama must have sensed his energy before he even landed a hand on the doorknob. Had probably even heard his footsteps from a mile away with his sensitive hearing senses.

"Why, Koenma-sama," Kurama addressed him with that curtness dripping heavily in his tone, repressing all other emotions as usual as he stared at the ruler of Reikai, "now to what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked casually, as if he was not naked and bare under the sheets with whom one could perceive as Koenma's top ferry girl, who was, by the way, still blisfully ignorant of her own nudity as she continued to doze off.

Koenma's gaze darted from the spirit guide, to the fox, then back and forth, before pinning on the redhead once more. His eyes narrowed slightly, but it was not in a dangerous manner, but bordered on an irritated fashion. "No wonder her report never arrived on my desk," he muttered, without bothering to answer Kurama's question. "Though I must say, despite suspecting this as the only place she could be at, I did not expect to see her… in such a state." A pink tinge coloured his cheeks, and he quickly looked away as the fox went to lift the covers up to allow his mate some more decency. After all, no one was allowed to see her without any clothes on but him.

"Yes, well," Kurama turned his attention to the prince, his smile thin on his lips, "I apologize for keeping her busy. I did not know that she had a report due last night. If I had been more aware…"

"Sure, right, of course," Koenma cut him short, his voice dripping with sarcasm as his countenance contorted into one that matched his tone. "As if you wouldn't want to keep her by your side for as long as you'd want. Hiei's not the only one who knows of your affections for her." He spoke so bluntly that even the usually collected Reikai Tantei member was caught off guard, the surprise intruding his irises disrupting the once unperturbed calmness there as he blinked wide-eyed at the prince.

"You knew?" he murmured, eyes shifting to their normal size as he shook his head and regained his composure. "How?"

"I am not stupid, nor am I blind," Koenma's voice nearly spat at him, venomous, as if he was offended that the fox would regard him in such a way. He might have been a bratty punk at times, but he certainly was not dumb, and he would not let Kurama, of all people, would think of him like that. "I've noticed the sticky exchanges between you and her, the brief smiles you'd always give her when no one was there to see. Your body language implies of your feelings for her, and that's how I found out, plain and simple."

"How long?"

"How long?" Koenma echoed, mouth sucking furiously on the pacifier between his teeth. "Does it matter? Well, it's been years, I think, but not that any of that is relevant."

"Are you…" Kurama paused to spare a fleeting glance at the still slumbering ferry guide beside him, before casting a doubtful gaze at the Reikai prince, "against it? Our relationship, I mean."

"Well, not that I'm against it, though I do fear of the consequences of such a union which is deemed forbidden under Reikai laws." Koenma gingerly traced a finger to his bangs, reaching to swipe a strand that was led astray back to join the rest as he went on, "You must understand. It was already hard enough to persuade my father to let you stay here, much less indulge in sexual affairs with the most favored ferry girl in Reikai. But, considering he was terrified of you running around getting frisky with humans, he agreed, nonetheless. I can comprehend the reason of his concerns; I worry about that, too. And plus, he also believes that it'd be better if you were to have sex with someone you know other than a total stranger. Screwing around with random people, demons or not, is seemed rather unfitting of a Reikai Tantei member, after all." He paused. "He did suggest you having Yukina as a partner though."

A dry short fit of laughter escaped from the half-human's lips. "My, I never knew the great Enma Daioh has such a great sense of humor," he said in a tart voice, ignoring Koenma's cry of keeping his insults about his father to himself in fear of said parent somehow listening in on their conversation as he added, "Hiei would kill me. And besides, I do not want her."

"Yes, since you and I both know who you really desire," Koenma blurted out, before blushing at his own words. He collected himself a second after though as he cleared his throat, his features turning serious before he tucked a lock of brown hair behind his ear and parted his lips to speak. "Look, I don't mind you seeing her. I've known that she likes you for as long as I could remember. And though this is humiliating to admit, I do trust you enough not to hurt her. I mean, I know you can make her happy… and that's what I want. I want her to be happy. With someone she loves and someone who loves her back." His cheeks flushed yet again. "I know, sappy, but yeah, at least I'm honest."

A sense of gratitude seemed to radiate off of the fox, a real, gentle smile playing on his lips as he nodded his head at the prince. "Thank you, Koenma-sama. Your support towards our relationship is very much appreciated."

"Yes, well, let's not get too mushy here," Koenma huffed, though a slight pink hue still remained on his face. "I also came here for another reason," he uttered, and just as soon as he did, the blush seemed to disappear completely, taking its place was a solemn expression as he gave the redhead a long, hard look.

Kurama blinked, but did not waver the smile on his features even though he had a hunch of what it was the Reikai ruler meant. "And that is…?" he inquired anyway, tilting his head to the side as he studied the other male with curious interest.

"The culprit," Koenma spoke almost instantly and Kurama inwardly heaved a heavy sigh. Ah, of course. His suspicions were never off the mark. "You do know who he is, right?"

"What gives you the idea that I do?"

Koenma's disposition seemed to harden, growing fierce as he glowered at the ex-thief. "Look, Kurama, I know that you're hiding something. It's no use keeping it a secret from me."

A delicate red eyebrow arched his way. "What exactly are you implying?" Kurama tried anyway, though he suspected that at the moment nothing he was about to say was able to convince the Reikai prince otherwise.

As if on cue, Koenma let out a loud, scoffing sound. "Sure, of course. Play the fool, why don't you? Well, two can play at that game. I'm not leaving this room until you spit it out."

Kurama's smile eventually faltered, but the composure remained in his relaxed body language and his pools of green. "Is that so? How obstinate."

"Look, I don't know if you've noticed," But of course, he did, "but we're changing roles here. Remember the whole Sensui incident? I knew he was behind it, but I didn't say anything to any of you because I knew his strength far exceeded that of even all four of you combined- but that matters not now, as Yusuke proved to be stronger, but that's not exactly the point here. The point here is that you confronted me when I was keeping secrets. And that's precisely what we're doing here. Except our positions have reversed."

"Yes, well," Gold peeked through vibrant emerald orbs, startling the Reikai prince, "you're forgetting that I'm a hard one to crack."

Shock dying out of his system, Koenma narrowed his hazel eyes at the redhead, his mouth evidently reduced into a thin line of brewing annoyance from behind his pacifier. "You're stubborn. Frustratingly, even more so than Yusuke." He crossed his arms, but the irritation seemed to dissipate from his features as he expelled a deep sigh. "Well, knowing you, I can't exactly win an argument with you. But, oh well, it didn't hurt to try. And besides, I do not wish to be here when Botan wakes up. The moment would be too… tense and awkward, yeah, but mostly awkward." He then looked straight into the emerald-gold eyes that belonged to none other than the former legendary bandit. "Besides, guessing you, I would expect you want to deal with this whole predicament by yourself. However, just know that if things get out of hand, I'll be threatening you with a knife to give me a name whilst sending the rest of the Reikai Tantei to your aid." His voice was firm, will and determination filling his tone as he stared hard at Kurama. Although the idea of him pointing the tip of a blade at the fox's throat was undoubtedly tempting but impossible as he would be outwitted in a matter of seconds, other than the fact that he was a coward, he managed to appear frightening enough to capture the attention of the redhead, who nodded in affirmation in return.

Koenma nodded his head back in return, before whirling around and touching a fist on the doorknob. He had the door only an inch opened before he turned his head around to face Kurama once again. The look on his face indicated he had only had a revelation hitting him hard in the cheek.

"Hiei knows, doesn't he?" he asked, despite already suspecting what the answer would be. He received a nod in return. "So let me get this straight, it's okay for _him_ to know, but not for _us_ to be made aware? I know we're not close enough, you and I, for you to let out your best-kept secrets, but aren't Yusuke and Kuwabara…" he trailed off as the fox shook his head, his red hair swaying from side to side following his actions.

"The risk of getting too many people involved is too high," Kurama chided softly as he moved backwards to lie against the headboard, his emeralds studying the prince in a serious manner that meant business. "And besides, though Hiei is the closest thing I could call a best friend, he would not meddle in other's affairs if he's told not to. No, if anything, he _knows_ that he will only get in the way, and will only offer a helping hand merely when I'm hanging on a thread between life and death. The culprit knows this, so he sees Hiei as no threat. Unless the situation gets too out of control, then he will not indulge Hiei in a bloody battle."

Koenma seemed to relax a little, but his body language was still frigid; calm, but frigid. "And how do you know it won't come to that?"

"I believe I can take care of it before it does," Kurama answered with a small smile, watching in silent amusement as the Reikai prince continued to ogle him with slight doubt before shrugging off a shoulder.

"I suppose this time I'll have to put my faith in you," Koenma murmured, before snorting out in discomfort at the prospect of having to be kept out of the way in this whole ordeal. But, he knew better than to stick his nose into the fox's business. "Besides, I believe you will hold your end of the deal. If the situation gets too serious, then be rest assured that I'll have everyone running to your rescue in a matter of minutes."

"I promise I'll inform you if it does get out of control," Kurama said with a slight nod of his head, though he doubted any of the worst-case scenarios he'd been coming up in his head everyday would grant him any chance to communicate with the others. If worse came to worse, he could die. Or it could mean the end for both him and Kageyama. But, if he could change into his demon side… _I know I can do that. That's been proven already… since last night._ Brewing irritation rose within him as he recalled his control slipping to the point he had involuntarily let Youko take over. He remembered her moans, the way she clung to the silver-haired part of him and how the demon had chose to mate with her. Youko had got to her first and something about that just didn't seem to sit well with him, but he quickly squashed that thought. _What am I doing, being jealous of myself? How utterly foolish._ But, foolish was what he was, and he still was envious. This feeling would no doubt fade over time, perhaps even sooner than he expected as the logical part of his brain persuaded him not to put too much thought over it, but right now, he was consumed by it, even as he tried to ignore it as Koenma uttered a few last words towards him.

"Tell Botan I'll be expecting a report from her as soon as she wakes up," Koenma had told him, but Kurama couldn't respond, the whirlwind of negative emotions taking residence in his heart stealing him of his capability for speech as he merely nodded his head in return.

And with a flick of his red cape, the prince was gone.

* * *

"Kurama? Ngh… What time is it?" A low, groaning voice resonated in the room, disrupting the calm silence in the air.

The redhead blinked and looked up from the book he was reading as he fixated his gaze on the now awake ferry girl. Botan rubbed a fist at her right eye as she sat up on the bed, blinking with half-awake eyelashes to clear the blurriness away from her vision. A smile instantly pulled up at the edge of his lips.

"12, noon," he answered simply, before folding a small partial of the piece of paper stuck on the book so as to remember where he left off, and shutting the reading material close with a soft, thudding sound. "You slept in. Koenma expects a report from you soon."

Botan grumbled something incoherent under her breath, before lifting her arms up to stretch, unaware of the effect she had on him as her chest leaned forward following her actions. She had a dream; a very pleasant dream. Something about a meadow. Lilies and sunflowers. But, she couldn't remember the rest, try as she might to chase after the remnants of the dream which were so rapidly fading away. She returned his smile with her own as she turned to look at him.

"Oh, well, I'm already done with it so that only leaves with sending it in." Her smile took on a more playful approach as she noticed him blinking his eyes, almost as if snapping out of a trance as the glimmer in the emeralds returned. "I can do that a bit later," she added as she tucked a hand under his arm, lying her head on his strong shoulder as she drew closer.

Kurama felt his lust cooling down as he felt her lovingly trace lazy cirlces on the back of his hand with her other one, affections surfacing as he tilted his head slightly to the side and leaned down to plant a featherlike kiss on her blue mane.

"Are you sure?" His voice was a tad bit muffled as he nuzzled his nose into the locks of azure, nostrils flaring as he took a whiff of her soothing, vanilla scent. "You're already behind the schedule, you know."

He pulled apart as the girl removed herself from his shoulder to turn her head up and pinned a slightly exasperated stare on his smiling face. Her eyes narrowed as she threw him an accusing look. "You're not going to give me that old man talk you always give Yusuke and Kuwabara, are you?" At the subtle broadening of the quirk on his lips, she expelled a loud, half whine and half groan. "Oh, please don't."

A laugh finally left his lips- she seemed so adorable as she sat there, beautiful pools of amethyst glaring daggers at him as the bottom half of her mouth was tugged out to form an endearingly childish pout. His laughter soon diminished though, reduced to a cheeky grin as her fingers went to his stomach and pinched slightly at his skin in silent warning. Reaching a hand up, the fox tenderly patted her head, his grin transforming into a soft smile as Botan blushed before casting her gaze down to her lap. He was well aware that she hated it when people patted her; she had told him before that it made her feel like a kid, or someone's pet animal. But, the fact she allowed only him to do it anyway made his heart swell with joy.

"Alright, I won't," he relented, hand falling down to the side of his hip as he eyed the girl peer up at him with a wide smile, the pink tinge colouring her cheeks the only remnant of her blush. "But, are you certain he won't throw a fit if he finds out you're deliberately staying here when you're supposed to report to him?"

She shook her head, her smile evolving into a reassuring one as she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. "It's fine," she told him, before moving into his lap and clasping her thighs around his hips. "I'll just pretend I've been sleeping for the next thirty minutes. He'll be crossed, sure, but at least I know I'll get off the hook." She grinned, knowing that she was being devious. It wasn't as if she was purposely trying to avoid her duties- no. She loved ferrying souls, comforting them before guiding them to where they rightfully belong- but paperwork and reports were different stories altogether. She hated being behind the desk most of the time, loathed to be kept in Reikai for so long. She preferred flying on her oar, feeling the cold, gust of wind as adrenalines overtook her.

"Hmm." Kurama's own lips quirked into a grin that matched the mischievous one she was sporting as he tried to ignore the feel of her plump ass pressing against his thighs. "Naughty girl," he murmured as he permitted his hands to travel to her small back, running tiny, teasing circles on the smooth flesh.

Botan sighed in content as she allowed his little ministrations to surround her, before widening her grin and leaning forward to claim his lips in a brief, chaste kiss. "You love that about me," she retorted, her hot breath fanning over his mouth as she pulled away an inch to look at him in the eyes, hers filled with amusement whilst his were bordering on predatory.

"Indeed, I do," he whispered, before shaking his head as he lightly chastised himself not to be so easily swept by her teasing game. He reached from behind her to an average-sized bowl with green, murky substance in it before presenting it to her. Botan blinked. "Would you like this soup?" he asked, as he cocked his head to the side at her. "It is not exactly up to my favor."

The deity proceeded to blink a couple of more times before allowing a knowing smile to cross her pink, honey-dew lips. _Always asserting control_ , she mused to herself at his refusal to be pulled into what would have been a hot make-out session, followed by a string of moans and growls as he pushed her down to the bed and pounded into her. But, she decided not to let her own desires get the better of her judgement this time- she knew better. He was doing this for her own good. He wouldn't want to get her into trouble with Koenma, after all. Seeing as the report was due this morning.

She stifled a groan as she planted a peck on his nose before pulling out of his lap. A flicker of disappointment- that was all, then he quickly slipped the stoic, impenetrable mask back to place. "Oh, hush," she finally replied as she got off the bed and bent down to retrieve her clothes. She slid her shirt on, then whirled around to face him. "You don't like any food from Reikai."

There was a pause. The redhead seemed to be considering something as he stared down into the bowl and at what looked to hold a striking resemblance to a mixture of chewed food instead of actual soup. He then looked up at her, mouth tugged down into a single thin line as his brows furrowed slightly into a small frown.

"I miss human food," he blurted out, Botan laughing as she watched him pull a cute expression that mingled with discomfort.

"I'll get them for you if you want," she offered as her laughter disappeared into thin air. Kurama blinked, gaze casting down to her legs as she glided her underwear up her calves, then to her thighs, before he focused it on her face.

"Really? Aren't you too… busy? To go to Ningenkai?" he inquired slowly, before he put away the bowl of what was a sad excuse for soup.

"Well, yeah," she paused momentarily, "but, I can get Koenma to allow me a short detour, I think." Her features soon brightened up into a jovial grin as she delivered a playful wink at the fox's way. "Expect a grand amount of junk food and sweets on your plate this evening!"

A short chortle escaped his lips. "Thank you, you're a lifesaver." He tried not to stare as she zipped up her skirt. "I've been growing tired of Reikai's hospital food. As if its food under normal circumstances aren't already awful enough…" he grumbled, his annoyance quickly gone in the instant a giggle rumbled from her throat.

"Shh," She placed a finger to her lips as she heard footsteps outside the door, waiting for the sound to subside before it gradually disappeared, "keep it to yourself. Someone will hear."

Kurama heard Youko grunt somewhere in the recesses of his mind, muttering something about not giving a damn about what reigens thought of him before the redhead soon shook his hair, dismissing the demon's rant. "How do you withstand it?" he asked Botan instead.

She gave out a light shrug. "Well, I've been devouring it for most of my life, so yeah, it's kinda normal to me by now. Though I did vomit on the very first day of being a ferry girl."

A delicate red eyebrow quirked at her in curious interest. "You were human before, weren't you?" He'd heard of Reikai erasing memories of new grim reapers, but never had he had the time to actually look it up and confirm if it was true. Perhaps his lover could give him an answer. He'd wanted to ask her before, but was afraid that he'd be getting too much in her personal space. Circumstances had changed though, and so did their relationship.

"Yeah," A bitter smile curved at the corners of her mouth, "but, I don't exactly remember my past, you know? All of it is just a big blurry mess in this big lump I call my brain," she replied as she pointed a finger to her head for emphasis. Kurama seemed to frown, before his features took on a more thoughtful look, as if he was trying to let the information sink in. He'd suspected it before… but Botan's words were enough to confirm his suspicions. He snapped out of his thoughts as her voice reverberated in his ears again. "It's Reikai's standard procedure actually, the memory-erasing and stuff. It's believed that a ferry girl could get tied down to her former life, so it's sort of understandable, to be honest. Grim reapers don't need distractions, after all."

"And… aren't you curious?"

"Hmm, well, I'd be lying if I said I've never thought of it before. My past, I mean. But, well, I love who I am right now." The grimness in the quirk of her lips disappeared, taking its place was genuine happiness as her features brightened once more into a bright grin. "Plus, I have our friends… and you, now. And that's already more than I could ever wish for."

Kurama's eyes grew wide at her words, before slowly reverting to their original size. He studied her, scrutinized her in a way that made her realize he wasn't even looking at her… but _through_ her. It was almost as if he was trying to stare into her soul, seeking for the lie, his own countenance sporting a tender smile as he realized she meant every syllable.

"Come here," His voice was soft as he extended an arm towards her. Botan blinked, but did as she was told, sauntering up to him. A startled cry left her lips as he all but abruptly tugged at her waist, pulling her down once more into his lap. A moment passed before the girl got over her surprise and shot him a questioning stare. He merely smiled, before leaning down to kiss her squarely on the lips. "Such a horrendous job for a kind heart like yours," he mumbled against her mouth, before breaking off the lip-lock, "and you're not even grim. Is it even a wonder I love you so much?" His pools of green danced in mirth, the mischief in them unmistakable as he watched her blush before letting out a small huff.

"Ha-ha." She poked at his ribcage, resisting a smile as he feigned a wince in return. "You have a way with words, buster, I'll give you that."

He faked rubbing the 'sore' spot where she'd stabbed a finger at him as he gave her a toothy grin. "Yes, well, I do take pride in my ability to charm people with sweet sentences."

"Sure." Her response was followed with the adding of her eyes narrowing at him in slight doubt. "But, don't use those sweet sentences with other women but me, or you're dead, got that?" she half growled, voice threatening and firm.

His grin turned mischievous… predatory even. "My," he chuckled, "getting possessive, aren't we?"

A groan. "Kurama!"

He laughed at the exasperated cry of his name, but pulled her close as he placed a soft peck on her forehead. "Okay, okay," he murmured, "You know I don't even need to promise," he went on, but his voice was reassuring, "I won't even think of it. All I need is you."

Botan's cheeks flushed slight red at his words, and she didn't try to break free as he bent down to possess her lips in a tender yet demanding kiss. She sighed, before shaking her head. "Again," She deepened the lip-lock, wrapping her arms around his head as she darted her tongue out to lick at his bottom lip, "way with words."

"Don't praise me too much. I'm vain," he kidded playfully before pulling back as she tried to drive her tongue into his mouth. Botan pouted, but he merely gave her a patient smile. "You should go," he told her, "before one of us takes this too far."

She bit at the lower part of her mouth- part of her wanted to just kiss the breath out of the fox so that he would realize that she wanted nothing more than to give in, but another part of her recalled the report she was supposed to hand in and she quickly squashed that thought, swearing to herself that there was more time for them to release their desires before she reluctantly pulled out of his lap, Kurama letting her go almost all too hesitantly.

"I'll be back soon, okay?" she told him just as she walked to the door and her hand hovered just about an inch from the knob. She sent him a charming smile. "Don't wait up for me."

There was love in his eyes. "You know I will anyway."

Her smile seemed to broaden. "I know," she whispered.


	12. Chapter 12

**Euphoria**

 **Summary:** She could see the desire pooling in his emerald orbs as he looked straight into her eyes and in a voice, low and husky, said simply, "I want you."

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

 **Chapter 12**

"I just don't get it," Yusuke's voice was muffled as he continued to munch on the sweet chocolate-flavored bun in his hand, "It's been, like, four weeks, and we still haven't found out anything about the whole aphrodisiac predicament Kurama got himself into."

"Maybe the culprit is just too good at hiding?" Kuwabara suggested as he opened his lunchbox, muttering to himself something about homemade food being better than bought food before he went on, "I mean, it wouldn't be _that_ weird if they were. They did manage to inject the drug into Kurama's blood without him noticing in the first place."

"I _know_ , but," Yusuke let out a loud, exasperated groan, unaware that he threw his half eaten bun to the floor due to the frustration coursing through his being, "I still don't get it. I mean, the whole masking their presence thing I can get, but I just don't understand why everyone's so relaxed about this."

Kuwabara blinked. "Everyone?"

"Yeah, you know." Yusuke held up a finger, writing something in the air with the single digit in hopes that the carrot-top would comprehend it even without him uttering anything. Unfortunately, he only earned another blink in return. He pressed his lips together, eyes shooting daggers at his best friend. "I'm talking about Koenma and Kurama here."

"Oh!" A look of understanding finally crossed Kuwabara's features, but then it quickly dissipated, replaced by an expression filled with confusion. "But, why did you have to be all subtle like that? You could have just said it out loud."

"Dude! You know how Koenma likes to pop up behind us whenever we least expect him to. We _can't_ let him know we're talking about him. That's only gonna make it harder for us to pry some information out of him."

Kuwabara threw the half remnants of the bun Yusuke had been so delightfully chewing on until he'd decided that he didn't need it anymore into a nearby dustbin. Inwardly, he hoped Yusuke wouldn't start asking for _his_ food afterwards. "Guess you're right."

"Still," Yusuke leaned against the wall of the rooftop, "don't you think they're just being too carefree about this? I mean, according to what Koenma had told us, this Yokuboki or whatever it is is obviously dangerous. Kurama could die! But, he's just being so… calm. I mean, I know he's always cool like that and all, but this is something different altogether. Sometimes, he doesn't even look all that sexually frustrated to me anyway."

"It's Yokuboshi, Urameshi," Kuwabara lightly chided him for his lack of ability to even remember the plant's name, "and Botan's been… er, helping him out everyday, so why would he be pent up anyway? If he has an orgasm a day, it should be alright. I mean, sure, his life is at risk here, but let's be honest, this situation is so much better than the cases we've had before. _Those_ didn't leave us any choice but to fight or die. We didn't even have a second to waste. But, _this_ \- well, all he has to do is screw a girl and he'll be okay."

"Sure, yeah, whatever." Yusuke huffed, apparently annoyed by how much the carrot-top made sense. But, his tense shoulders seemed to slump down, indicating he had regained a bit of composure. Yet his body language was still frigid; calm but frigid. "But, he can't be this way forever, right? Botan can't keep coming to him everyday just to bone him! She has a life too, and he seems to be enjoying this too much. And what about the whole thing we heard-"

"You mean eavesdropped-"

Kuwabara was ignored. "-from Koenma in his office?" Yusuke growled, recalling the time he and Kuwabara had went to Reikai to check up on Kurama, only to realize the fox wasn't in his room. They had been walking around looking for him until they happened to meet Hinageshi, who told them the redhead was busy discussing a relevant matter with Koenma. About what, they hadn't the faintest clue. But, they soon understood something was going on as they went to the prince's office, and couldn't help but listen in on the conversation taking place from the other side. It took Kuwabara and a whole bunch of ogres, and Hiei, who had coincidentally decided to see how Kurama was doing, to stop Yusuke from kicking the door open. "The puny brat obviously knows something and he's not telling us anything about it! He and Kurama were whispering like they share a big secret or something. And Koenma said that Kurama knows who the culprit is! But, he's deliberately keeping it to himself, and the fox isn't any better for not informing any of us. Here we are, worried sick about him, but he has the nerve to act all sneaky and mysterious with a toddler-prince."

"I don't exactly mind having sex with him everyday," a new voice interrupted; its tone curt and somewhat fierce. The two boys blinked before widening their eyes in recognition. Whirling their heads around, they caught sight of Botan, clad in Sarayashiki's girls-only uniform, sporting a composed expression on her countenance, despite the fire growing in her pools of amethysts. Her arms came to cross over her chest, and her irritated-pressed mouth parted to form out words. "And what's all this about Kurama knowing who's behind all this?"

"Er," Kuwabara pondered if he should even say anything, somewhat frightened at the sight of Botan looking so hurt and angry. He felled silent, turning to look at Yusuke and silently pleading for help with his little irises.

The delinquent creased his brows into a frown, as if asking why _he_ was the one forced to explain everything. He gestured a hand at Kuwabara, indicating he should just go on, and receiving a half exasperated look from the carrot-top. His frown deepened for a moment or two, but the expression soon faded as both boys caught on to the feel of Botan's energy spiking in added wrath.

"Uh, we don't really know anything, Botan," Yusuke answered slowly, as sweat began to bead on his forehead. The girl's physiognomy didn't change, and he made to proceed, "We just overheard. From Koenma's office. We were shocked as well, and I'm kinda pissed at Kurama, myself, but… I couldn't find out more because they stopped talking."

"Kurama," Kuwabara offered with a blank face, "He sensed us. He knew we were listening. So he stopped."

Yusuke turned to look at him. "I still don't know how, man. I mean, I was sure we hid our presences well enough for him not to notice." The fox was usually attentive, but he and Kuwabara had been training a lot lately, seeing as cases had been popping up more these days. And they had gotten better; even to the point they managed to mask their respective energies from the normally careful half-demon at least three times before. But, Kurama must have improved as well. He had grown stronger. And though he didn't notice at first, it wasn't long before he actually did.

"Hard not to notice when you were seconds away from shooting the Spirit Gun at the door," Kuwabara added with a playful edge in his voice, a snicker erupting from his lips. Yusuke glared, tempted to land his knuckles on the carrot-top's cheek. And he did, tackling Kuwabara to the ground before the two engaged in full-blown fist-fight.

Seconds- no, _minutes_ , ticked by before a soft sigh was expelled into the bone-chilling breeze. Yusuke halted in his attempts at kicking Kuwabara in the crotch, letting his bruised-face friend fall to the ground, twitching, before casting his gaze to the one who had let out the sound. Botan's rage-filled eyes had disappeared, taking its place was slight… disappointment? Yusuke frowned, going to sit closer to the ferry girl who flopped down on a spot on the floor of the roof, and paying no mind to Kuwabara who was demanding a rematch.

"Hey, what's wrong? You still angry at him?" Yusuke asked, concern flooding his brown orbs as he studied the blue-haired deity.

Botan managed to force a smile through pink, trembling lips. "Yes, I am. But, I know he must have a reason…" she trailed off as she pinned a transfixed stare on the white, puffy clouds; her eyes devoid of any emotion before she blinked, then in a low, almost inaudible voice, similar to that of a hushed whisper, she uttered, "I just want to know what it is."

* * *

"Is something the matter?"

Botan blinked her purple, clouded eyes, her motion and movements slow as she shook her head and shut her eyelids tight before flicking them open again, almost as if to snap out of a spell. She then peered at Kurama; blushing for a moment as she realized the top buttons of the black dress shirt he wore were undone, leaving his bare chest open to her hungry orbs. But then a small voice nagged at her from the deep recesses of the back of her mind, reminding her that she was supposed to be displeased with him, and the flush on her cheeks soon disappeared, fading almost as quickly as it appeared.

"Um, nothing," she bluffed, before firmly chastising herself for her cowardice to be upfront with him. For some reason, she felt uncomfortable, her body practically radiating off waves of tension as she looked away from the fox's scrutinizing ogle, averting her irises to the reflecting mirror.

Kurama blinked at her, a frown coming to marr his handsome features as he caught on to the pathetic lie. Botan had came by a few hours ago- and things should have gone the way they usually would. They should have made love- and that happened- they should have snuggled- that occurred for about five minutes before Botan decided to pull away- they should have talked, she should have been happy- but that wasn't the case. The air around them had been engulfed in an unbearable, interminable silence in the instant she removed herself from his embrace. At first, he assumed it was his imagination, but now as he stood there over the edge of his bed, eyeing her form covered in the pure white sheets, and watching as she tried desperately not to meet his gaze, the revelation hit him that his instincts had been correct all along.

He slowly walked to the bed, hands falling flat on the mattress as his knees crawled towards the ferry girl. Botan seemed to spare him a fleeting glance the moment she felt weight at the corner of the bed, only to look away once more as he started to make his way to her. He hesitated for a moment; letting a dreading feel sink into the pit of his stomach before he quickly brushed it off. Then he extended an arm out, his right hand coming into contact with her cheek, fingers gently running across the smooth, plump skin.

"Something's bothering you," he stated, his voice firm and all too knowing, leaving her no room for excuses and disagreement. "What is it?" His forefinger and thumb trailed downwards to her pointed chin, tugging her face towards his as he looked straight into her eyes. Botan, initially caught off guard, narrowed her slightly wide orbs into slits as she glared up at him.

"You knew," she said, a half growl rumbling from the back of her throat. He blinked, then cocked his head to the side.

"Pardon me?"

"You _knew_ ," Botan repeated, cheery voice dripping with slight anger as pools of amethysts reflected hurt and betrayal. Hurt _because_ of betrayal. "The culprit." Kurama's body tensed, turning into a rigid line the instant the two words left her. "You knew, but you never told me."

Kurama's eyes grew broad in slight surprise, before they soon softened as he finally understood the reason behind her odd disposition. Fingers releasing their hold on her chin, the fox expelled a sigh and shook his head, locks of red swaying from side to side following his actions. He need not guess who she found out about it from. "I couldn't," he murmured, hating how vulnerable he came off as he ran a hand through his hair, frustrated digits curling and tugging on the crimson mane.

A huff. "And why not?" Her bottom lip pulled out to form an endearing pout, and he resisted the urge to slam his lips against hers and devour her sweet mouth as he slipped on a stoic mask, eyes darting upwards to hers once more as he uttered,

"I was scared." A pause. "Of losing you."

Botan frowned. "Losing me? Kurama, that won't happen." Her features softened, the wrath gone as swiftly as it came as she felt her hardened heart melt at his words. "I've been through a whole lot worse."

"Yes, but he could have killed you if I were to tell you who he-"

"So it's a guy then?" she cut him short, a half smile slowly curving at the edge of her lips. Green orbs blinked once again at her direction, one, delicate red eyebrow raising in question. She shook her head, and her smile seemed to waver. "I was… worried that it might have been a woman," she admitted with a rosy hue tinting her cheeks.

Kurama's lips tugged upwards to form an amused, cheeky grin, his emerald orbs dancing in mischief as he finally found an effective solution. "And if it were a woman…?" His voice, teasing, drew another blush from her.

"I'd be jealous," she blurted out, even as she gave him a long, hard look. "And don't even think I don't know what you're doing," she went on, eyeing in silent amusement as the smile on his face dropped from his visage. "You can't change the subject. We need to talk." All playfulness aside, the deity sent him a firm, unwavering stare, giving him a clue that she wasn't about to give in unless he told her the full truth.

But, he couldn't.

He shook his head. "I cannot do that, Botan," he mumbled, voice low and tender, "because I do not want to risk putting your life at stake."

Another deep frown came to rest on her forehead. "What on earth are you talking about?" she hissed, her features growing fierce. "I've endangered myself countless times for this team! Remember the incident with Yakumo? I nearly lost my life, Kurama, I was hanging on a thin thread between life and death. But even then, I took pride in what I did. Why? Because I knew I could do something, not just for my sake, but for every last person I held dear. This job never is without any risk, never without the presence of death. I can take care of myself, I'll have you know that. I'm not just an average human girl, and there's no way I'm gonna let you deal with this guy alone." Her voice, firm, and her beautiful purple orbs, determined, told him that she meant every syllable she spoke. That this was serious, and she wasn't about to let him do whatever he wanted that easily.

But, he was not easily dismissed. Much more when he knew he would be pushing her into harm's way. Pearl white teeth gritted, long, sharp fangs poking at the lower half of his mouth and drawing out blood as he clamped his eyes shut and growled out, "I _will not_ drag you into my own fight, Botan. This is my battle, and my alone." His eyelids slid open, focusing on her and staring into her perplexed magenta. "Please understand. I am not only doing this for your own good, but for everyone's as well. I will not involve my beloved ones into this, I refuse to. Besides which," The golden in his vibrant green disappeared, giving way to strong affection as he cupped her cheek in one hand and leaned closer to touch their foreheads together, "this is a matter I have to solve on my own. Something I need to deal with by myself. This is merely a five-hundred-year-old grudge- yet it's something I won't have gone and done with with someone's assistance or involvement. It's between him and I alone."

Botan's features grew tender, a sigh escaping from her honey-dew lips as she fought the tears threatening to spring in her eyes. She couldn't accept it, but she understood. So she would try. Try not to meddle in his fight. Try to keep her mouth shut and merely wait from the sidelines for him to solve everything. She would try, and she would prevail. He would walk out of this, and she would not land a finger on this case.

That, she promised, because she believed in him and his strength. She had faith that he would live.


	13. Chapter 13

**Euphoria**

 **Summary:** She could see the desire pooling in his emerald orbs as he looked straight into her eyes and in a voice, low and husky, said simply, "I want you."

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

 **Chapter 13**

"The Reikai prince…"

Kageyama turned to look at his partner. The demon sat languidly on a chair with one leg crossed over the other, the yellow shade of the his hair nearly matching his turqoise orbs as they met with Kageyama's dark blue ones. A message seemed to pass between them, and the cat ears on the top of Kageyama's head twitched a little.

"He is no threat," he reassured, "Though he is aware Kurama knows who is behind all this, he does not have so much as an inkling of a clue about our identities."

His companion seemed to study him, staring at him with a blank look before shaking his head. All of a sudden, he stood up from the chair, ignoring the way the wooden material screeched against the floor of the warm, dark warehouse that was their hideout in Ningenkai. "Look, Kage, the Yokuboshi I had was the last of its species," he started slowly, hesitantly, as if afraid Kageyama would snap if he uttered the wrong words, "It was priceless. But I gave it to you because you were a friend. I helped you. But if this plan of yours results to nothing…"

A growl, low and dangerous, immediately silenced his doubtful remarks. Kageyama's blue eyes flashed red and he sighed as he saw his cat ears flatten on his head. "I assure you, Ruki," Kageyama's voice sounded slightly strained, "our efforts will not be fruitless." A smirk reached to find its way to his lips.

Ruki pressed his lips together, somewhat unconvinced. He continued to gaze back at Kageyama's determined irises, considering for a moment before nodding his head. "Okay, I trust you. But the moment this gets out of control, I'm leaving."

"You're going to bail out on me?" In spite his words, Kageyama did not seem even the least bit surprised at the outburst. He earned a nod in return, causing the smirk touching his lips to broaden just a little. "You tell me you're doing this all for me, but you'll abandon me at the last minute? How very honorable of you."

Ruki shrugged both shoulders, then raised his two arms in defense of himself. "Hey, I know I said all that stuff and all, and it's true. But I still have my own matters to take care of, and I'm not going to die by the hands of a crazy fox demon, or more importantly, get myself arrested by Reikai's reliable SDF members."

That tore out a laugh from Kageyama's throat. "Death is more relevant than imprisonment, huh?"

"Yes." Ruki grinned, not even the least bit hesitant with his admittance. "Very much sweeter."

"You need to get your priorities sorted out."

"So I've been told." Ruki pushed his hands into the warmth of his pockets as he felt a surge of demon energy- one that didn't belong to him- spiking a little with the intent to kill. His grin took on a more playful approach, his eyes mirthful as he stared down at Kageyama. "Relax," he uttered, "I know I said I was going to escape if worse comes to worse, but at least, I'll come back later to check up on you. Or we can devise another plan to make Youko's life miserable."

"And if I were dead by then?" Kageyama retorted with a huff, though his aura seemed to be gradually losing its touch of hostility as his clenched fists unclenched, the blood trickling from the wound his clawed fingers had marked on his skin from clutching too hard blatantly ignored, even as it dripped on the floor, turning it red and dark brown.

Ruki's orbs seemed to flash. "Then I'll bury you, mourn for you-"

"You'll probably just feed me to one of your cannibalistic friends," Kageyama cut off the bluff, blue irises narrowed at his partner's lame attempt at a friendly joke.

Ruki attempted a half smile, but his eyes seemed to glint at the mention of the human peers he'd made through something called an internet on a website dedicated to humans who consumed other humans as a food source. He found it somewhat funny. Years after more and more demons had abandoned the habit of devouring humans for survival, it would seem their prey's own kind had adopted that obsession and doing a good job at continuing where demons had left off. He had laughed the instant he found the website, and he was still laughing about it to this day. It felt pleasant, for some odd, sick reason.

"At least, they're satisfied," Ruki replied with a chortle, catching the knife Kageyama threw at him between his forefinger and middle finger with effortless grace. For some reason, his smirk seemed to grow. "Hey, I've got a favor."

Kageyama glared for a moment, before slowly nodding his head. Ruki's features looked as if they would disappear from the grin he sported.

"I want her," he went on, throwing the knife into the air before catching it again his palm. The blade cut through his smooth flesh, drawing out blood, but he did not seem to care. "The ferry girl."

Blue eyes gazed blankly straight ahead before amused realization filled them. "You mean the one Youko's screwing?"

"Yes," Ruki purred, "that one. With blue hair and those clear eyes."

Kageyama seemed to be torn apart between laughing and groaning in frustration. "I don't know what you and that fox see in her. I would've taken her, yes, but she's hardly that interesting."

"I find her alluring."

"Whatever." The cat demon brushed Ruki off as if he were a mere speck of dust in the air. "Why do you want her anyway?"

"I just do." The knife landed somewhere on the wall of the warehouse as Ruki's fingers moved to throw it like a dart. The gesture managed to cut a strand of Kageyama's silvery hair.

"You'll get tired of her," came Kageyama's rebuttal.

"I don't care. I'll kill her when I do. We'll kidnap her, then dump her body somewhere in Makai when the day she has to die arrives."

A silver eyebrow quirked at Ruki in question. "She's Reikai's top ferry girl, and you're planning to abduct her? More importantly, you're going to murder her after you derive every drop of pleasure you can from her? And you say you don't want to get caught by Koenma's henchmen."

"Yes." Ruki's lips pulled upwards into a toothy grin, spreading from ear to ear. "But I relish in the chase."

"Freak."

"Thank you."

Kageyama huffed. "I don't exactly mind; I won't have anything to do with her. Just kidnap her if you want, take her if you desire, but leave me out of it. All I want is to get my revenge on Kurama."

A nod. "Of course. You sure he wouldn't assume you didn't take her as a hostage?"

"He wouldn't."

Ruki pursed his lips. "And if he did?"

A pause hung painfully in the air as a feral, animalistic grin stretched on Kageyama's lips, baring his sharp, glinting fangs in the shadows surrounding them. "Then I'll let you fuck her in front of him just to make that clear."

* * *

Kurama's trembling body rose with a start from the covers soaked from his sweat. Ragged, breathy pants escaped him through wide, parted lips. His teeth gritted, his sharp, knife-like fangs poking through the plump skin of his bottom lip as he clamped his eyes shut and fought to regain composure. Moments passed, then the remnants of the memory he had dreamt- blood, his mother, Kageyama, Botan- finally faded away, leaving in its wake only the shivering mess that was his bundled up form as he brought the sheets up to the back of his head. What _was_ that? That terrifying nightmare… Botan, his mother- the two most important people in his life- dead, a puddle of blood beneath their bodies while Kageyama's being stood tall between them with a blood-soaked sword in his right hand. He'd dreamt of their demises, and how they had been murdered because of him. A bad omen seemed to be calling for him, and he frantically shook his head.

 _No!_ His mind screamed. _I won't let that happen. Not even in a million years._ He would kill Kageyama, the cat demon would die by _his_ hands. He wouldn't allow the blasted bastard to even think of going near them, much less land a filthy finger on their hairs.

A fleeting, overwhelming surge of warmth flooded the room, surrounded his cold body and he expelled a sigh of relief. _Botan_. A familiar pattern of spirit energy, and he eyed, amused, with a smile growing on his face as the knob twisted left to right, to and fro, struggling to open the door with the vines holding it shut. He summoned the green, thorny vines to slither away, watching as they disappeared underneath his bed before darting his gaze to the door as it slid open. In came Botan, her mouth pursed, and a frown embedded on her forehead.

"Did you lock it?" she asked, before closing the door behind her as she sauntered up to him.

"No, not really. I ordered my vines to… keep guard in case an intruder comes and tries to attack."

She blinked. "Why? Did that happen before?"

The redhead tilted his head to the side, a finger coming to rest on the area just beneath his lower lip as he flicked his irises to the right, his posture thoughtful as he racked through his brain. "Hmm, perhaps two or three times. Just a bunch of SDF members."

Surprise crossed over the ferry girl's features, before rage quickly took over and filled her burning pools of amethysts. "How dare they!" she roared, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth. "I'll have Koenma be made aware of their misbehavior, and they'll be fired in a second! Just they wait!"

She flopped down on the bed angrily, her arms crossed over her chest as her eyes glared daggers at the wall presented before her. Kurama resisted a cheeky grin as he reached a hand to grab ahold of hers. The touch seemed to harbor a soothing effect on her, as he caught the sight of her tensed body slumping down a little, calm now but not entirely.

"Calm down, Botan," he told her, voice gentle as he brought her hand to his lips, planting chaste, open-mouthed kisses on her fingers, "You can't blame them. They're just wary of me, seeing as I'm a demon."

"Yes," Her mouth pressed tight together, "but you're also a member of Reikai Tantei. You have done a lot of good deeds, perhaps even more so than they have. You've put yourself at risk, you've even endangered your life, and I will not tolerate their insolence towards you." A growl built in her chest, before erupting from her throat as her wrath began to brew once more within her.

Kurama shook his head, his red hair swaying from side to side following his actions. He leaned in, then kissed her squarely on the lips to force her to cool down. Smirking against her mouth as he succeeded, feeling her relax against him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the lip-lock. He gave her bottom lip a final, firm lick before he pulled apart, his hands cupping her cheeks as he gave her a long, hard look.

"I know how you feel," he whispered, before his voice grew firm, "but by retaliating for my sake, you'll be putting yourself in danger of being octracized. And _I_ will not tolerate _that_. Ever." A gentle smile then curved at the corners of his mouth. "They may say what they want of me. But I do not wish for them to treat you badly."

Her lips pursed, but she seemed to relent. She understood what he was trying to say; although she cared not about being left out by a bunch of members from the SDF, he could not afford to get her loathed by her coworkers if word about her defending a lowly fox demon were to spread. And they would. Rumors spread like wildfire here in Reikai, perhaps even faster than in Ningenkai. And despite the fact she'd rather drop dead before allow herself to get bothered by what others thought of her when all she'd try to do was stand up for her lover, Botan was well aware of the fact that she could not debate against Kurama. He would win anyway, and she would have to do what he wanted. No questions asked.

She sighed. "Okay, but please tell me the next time it happens. I don't like it, you know? The fact that you've kept this hidden from me for all this time. You should have told me." Her head drooped low, tears springing to her eyes before she felt his warm, pliant fingers wiping them away.

"I apologize," he murmured, "I did not want to worry you."

"Even so," Her hands reached up to touch his, squeezing lightly, even protectively, as she lifted her head to meet his gaze, her purple orbs deadly serious as she went on, "you have to promise me you won't keep it a secret. I want to know. I want you to trust me. Just as I trust you."

His smile broadened ever so slightly, and he complied, nodding his head. "I promise," he whispered, before claiming her mouth in a brief, featherlike kiss. He pulled apart a moment later to see her eyelids, which were fluttered close at first, flicking open to reveal her beautiful amethysts; filled with deep love and yearning. All for him. His heart swelled in joy at the look.

Her left hair cupped his cheek, before tracing over to his ear and disappearing into his hair, the streaks of red matted to the flesh of his face as she continued to curl her fingers around the locks of crimson. "You're sweating," she stated more than asked, and he blinked, "Did you have a bad dream again?"

That threw him a little off guard. "How did you know?" He wondered briefly if she saw him turning in the bed from outside the hospital building before coming in here. But, that wasn't possible. He would have sensed her if that were the case. And yet…

Her mouth formed a patient smile. "You always do," she answered, "Sweat, I mean. And so profusely too, in your sleep. Whenever you have nightmares." Her response came sounding all too knowingly that not for the first time did the revelation hit him that she just knew the real him _that_ much. The thought caused a slight grin to appear on his visage.

"Yes, I was," he finally replied, wrapping an arm around her waist as he drew her closer. She let him, the hand in his hair dropping to his chest as she trailed teasing, lazy circles on the linen fabric of his shirt. A heat began to sizzle in the pit of his stomach, but he tried to ignore it as he buried his nose into her blue mane, taking a whiff of her sweet, vanilla scent.

"What was it about?" she asked, finally, after a long, hesitant pause. She felt his body turn into a rigid line, before the muscles underneath her fingers relaxed, slumping down as he expelled a soft sigh into the icy air.

"You," Botan jerked up in surprise at that, "and my mother. Bleeding, dead on the ground…" He gulped, shutting his eyes tight as he tried to chase away the image from the recesses of his mind. He felt her hand, her warmth sapping through his skin, as it came in contact with his clenching jaw.

"That's not gonna happen," she told him firmly, the serious tone in her voice holding an underlying edge of reassurance, "ever. I won't let it. I'm strong, too, you know. Not in a fighter kind of way, but my spirit certainly is." Her eyes narrowed. "And I won't permit an enemy of yours to put an end to me. Nor will I do nothing to stop him from hurting your mother. If I had to, I'd even give up my life just for her."

Male pride took residence in his heart as her words echoed in the air and reverberated in his ears. A wave of relief, a surge of possessiveness and of course, a sense of overwhelming glee. This was his woman. His mate. And what a brave soul she was. He was more than blessed to have her by his side.

"Thank you," he whispered, his voice grateful, "but it will not come to that point, hopefully. I will deal with him before he could even dream of doing anything to either of you."

A smile grew on her feminine features. "I know," she whispered back, before moving closer to crush his lips with hers. A growl rumbled from his throat, sending little, heartpounding vibrations across her mouth as he tightened his hold around her and deepened the kiss.

She felt the rough texture of his tongue poking at her plump lip, and she parted them, allowing him to drive the wet appendage into her warm cavern as it streaked, travelling and memorizing every corner of the insides of her mouth before stroking against hers. A shiver racked down her spine, and she tried to contain her shaking as she brought trembling hands into his hair, pulling him impossibly closer as she climbed onto his lap and pressed her thighs against the either side of his hips.

"Kurama…" she moaned into the lip-lock as she felt something hard poking at her inner thigh before she shifted her position, allowing the bulge constricting in his pants to rock against the heat of her centre.

He groaned at the feel of her wetness soaking the fabric covering his erection, his hands falling to her hips as he rubbed and thrust against her harder and faster. Relishing in the uneven, breathy pants of pleasure he managed to elicit from her with each roll of his pelvis.

"Botan…" he growled out, and it was at this moment that Botan realized something; his voice, it was so deep, so sensual… so different than the gentle, boyish tone of Shuichi Minamino's… Her eyelids fluttered open in a wide, surprised manner, and she finally saw it; the streaks of red hair faded into silver, the ears sprouting on the top of his head and the tail swishing wildly behind him.

"Youko," she murmured, before breaking off the kiss. His mouth tugged down into a thin line, clearly displeased with the halting of their make-out session. Though he let her, watching idly as she pulled away. Her amethysts met his gold, and a smirk crossed his lips as he ogled her swallow a lump in her throat. "Did Kurama let you take over?"

"Hm, not really." He leaned in to nuzzle his nose against her jawline. "It just happened. I suppose Shuichi got lost in the heat of the moment, but it was not in my intentions to gain control."

Her blue eyebrows creased into a deep, bewildered frown, and she observed mutely as the fox stopped his nipping on her throat and pulled apart to look at her. "Then, why did you…"

"Like I said, it just happened," Youko responded simply, his voice casual and his features in disinterest as he stared back at her and leaned against the headboard of the bed.

"You make it sound like it's happened before," she blurted out before she could stop herself, causing him to smirk.

His mouth formed an honest answer. "It has, once or twice." He nodded to himself in acknowledgement over the new fact. "Since the start of this whole ordeal."

"What does the circumstances have anything to do with you taking over?"

"The Yokuboshi," He lazily hooked a strand of her blue hair around his ring finger, eyeing the glint at the tip as the moonlight seeped through the curtains, "It's bringing out my demon energy. As to how, I have no idea. Though the plant _is_ from demon origins, so I suspect it's just… how do I say this? Looking for a better host? A demon host, to be exact. Not that it's never had human victims before, but it's an intelligent creation, it knows that I, Youko Kurama, am a demon and a part of Shuichi. And it's making it easier for me to change forms."

"It prefers… demons?" she riposted with her frown deepening, her voice unsure and almost doubtful. "How… picky."

"Picky, yes, but undoubtedly, beneficial. With a demon host, it lives off longer because demons have long life spans. If the one under the influence of the Yokuboshi dies, then so does the Yokuboshi."

"Why?"

"Because this is its purpose. Without a host, it does not have one, and it wilts."

Her features became even more baffled as further befuddlement surrounded her. "So it dies. But how did it manage to be alive before… making you- Kurama- er, the both of you, its host? I mean, it's just… so weird."

Youko let out a low fit of chuckles- he couldn't help it, she seemed so cute, trying to refer to him and Shuichi at the same time. She shot a glare at him, and that served to silence him, his laughter dying out in the air, reducing into a cheeky grin that found its way to his lips, though his eyes were anything but playful. And she knew he was dead serious about the words that left him next.

"The Yokuboshi, technically, isn't alive until it attaches itself to a host. It exists, yes, but it doesn't come to life until it courses through hot, living blood. The host's life is also its, after all."

"I… see…" she muttered slowly as she attempted to let all the information sink in. It wasn't until she felt the clawed hands, still on her ass, clutching tightly to the soft mounds before giving the right cheek a smack, did she break out of her reverie. A startled gasp escaped her parted lips as she arched her back, driving her breasts closer to his face, and he buried his head there.

"Youko…" she whispered, body trembling as she felt the tip of his claws scraping against her skin as they roamed every inch of exposed flesh. "W-wait," she tried to say, hands gripping to his shoulders as she tried to pull away. Youko growled, tail thrashing behind him in slight irritation, and he gave her cleavage a long lick, ignoring her whimper before he parted to lightly slam the back of his head against the headboard. He seemed to be upset as he gaped at her, and Botan pursed her lips.

"What now?" he demanded, the lust brewing in him making it nearly damn impossible to keep his cool. Of course, he knew she needed to know more, and he would be more than willing to indulge in her questions… after her fucked her. He went to pull up the yellow blouse she was clad in, but the ferry girl swiftly tugged the hem of it down, preventing him from taking it off. She watched, slightly amused, as his ears flattened against the top of his head. "What is it?" he repeated his question, louder and firmer this time, which caused the smile on her face to falter as seriousness took over.

"I-if," and she briefly gulped, "If the Yokuboshi's trying to keep you in this form… what does that mean for Kurama? For Shuichi Minamino?"

That halted his fingers, which had been busy tracing lazy circles on the small of her back. His eyes turned blank, though underneath she could tell he was putting deep thoughts into her inquiry. He stared straight ahead, gaze transfixed on the wall behind her than her face. Then, after a long, what felt like interminable silence, his mouth eventually opened, forming out the words;

"Frankly, I do not know. This has never happened before. I've never heard of cases where the Yokuboshi chooses a demon in human body before, after all, so I… have not a faintest clue of the outcome." He furrowed his brows, sensing her discomfort, and quickly offered, "Would you like for me… to change back? Into Shuichi?"

She frowned, but blushed and nodded her head. "Is it… alright?" She was aware that the silver-haired fox rarely took control, and therefore, he must have wanted his freedom just for a little longer. But, her worry for Kurama got the better of her, and she couldn't help her growing desire to see the redhead's smiling visage.

Youko nodded in affirmative, and as if sensing her concern for his feelings as well, he gave her a reassuring smile. "It's okay," he answered her, "there's more time for me to have my turn of loving you all night." Desire filtered his molten gold before dissipating. "But, if it is to ease your worries, then I am more than happy to oblige."

Botan's cheeks flamed bright red at the mention of him making love to her, before the colour faded away from her face to give way to a firm stare as she nodded her head. She eyed, with slight awe and full anticipation, as the fox shut his eyes and creased his brows in concentration. She felt his demon energy shift, watched his ears twitch, and barely heard him uttering something under his breath. This lasted for about one or two minutes before Youko opened his eyes, his frown deepening into confusion as he brought his hands up to the length of his waist and stared down at them.

A sense of uneasiness suddenly overtook her, and she inhaled a shaky breath before asking, "Is everything okay? What happened? Why haven't you turned back into Kurama?"

Youko continued to gaze at his hands with that baffled look before his gold orbs widened in realization. He slowly lifted his head, his lustrous yellow eyes staring hard at her as his mouth parted, then in a low, almost inaudible, hushed whisper, came the words,

"Shuichi… I can't change into him."


	14. Chapter 14

**Euphoria**

 **Summary:** She could see the desire pooling in his emerald orbs as he looked straight into her eyes and in a voice, low and husky, said simply, "I want you."

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

 **Chapter 14**

"So, you can't revert to your human form?"

Youko's molten gold glared at the toddler form of prince Koenma, who visibly flinched under his hard stare. Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei were at his right side, all ogling at the fox demon with weird looks. If Youko's glowering wasn't so solely focused on the ruler of Reikai who insisted on repeating the same question, he would have noticed the odd gaping he was receiving from three of Shuichi's teammates. Now, if only he could get the table serving as an obstacle out of the way, he would be more than willing to realize his urge to butcher the bratty prince. _Shuichi_ might be inclined to respect this little _baby_ trying to stare him down- and failing miserably at it, but _he_ was not so keen to hold back his temper.

One nudge in the rear from Botan, who stood by his side with an apprehensive expression contorted on her visage, diverted his attention from his less than friendly thoughts, however. He shot the ferry girl a vehement glare, then turned to look back at Koenma, before huffing and thrashing his tail wildly from behind.

"Yes," he forced out the same answer, his voice holding a tinge of pent up irritation. "I tried, but my efforts resulted to being fruitless. I even attempted to sense him, but once again, it was in vain- I could not even hear a single thought from him. Just in case you are in need of more elaboration."

Koenma ignored the sarcasm dripping heavily in the demon's voice, and instead fixated his gaze on the pieces of paper presented under his nose, neatly arranged in a thick, brown file with Kurama's demon and human name at the cover in bright red colours. Youko threatened to rip it to shreds the first time he even spared a fleeting glance at it.

"Er," Koenma wiped away a trickle of sweat beading on his forehead, his mouth curling into a sheepish grin, "and do you have any idea whatsoever as to how that might have occurred?" he asked slowly, still somewhat disturbed by the presence of the greatly feared, legendary thief Youko Kurama, his feet planted flat on the floor of his office with his chin held up high as he once again… shot daggers at the Reikai prince?

"How many times must I explain things to you before you get it through that thick skull of yours?" Youko growled, low and dangerous, as his ears twitched vigorously on the top of his head. Koenma was beginning to sweat even more profusely when he held a hand up in the air, his claws flexing at the prince's way in a dangerous manner.

"Youko," Botan's flat voice caused the silver-haired demon to blink in surprise.

He whirled his head to the side to peer at her, instantly shoving the hand threatening to rip out Koenma's throat back into his pocket. He was tempted to say something in retort, but dared not to under Botan's withering glare. It wasn't as if he was terrified of her- well, slightly, but not enough to just let his anger go- no, he was just… well, he didn't like the notion of upsetting his mate. He pressed his lips tight together to prevent from throwing insane profanities at the Reikai prince.

"The Yokuboshi prefers demon hosts," he finally answered, his voice calm, though there was undoubtedly annoyance lying dormant in his tone, "so it has been helping me to gain control, sometimes without my own realization. I suppose… it's draining Shuichi's life force. Or perhaps he's there, but the Yokuboshi's keeping him… locked up or something of the sort. To prevent me from knowing and to stop Shuichi from being the dominant side of this body once more."

"And what do you think will happen if this situation prolongs too long?" Hiei's voice chimed in, sounding uninsterested, but the glint in his crimson orbs begged to differ. Youko casted a brief glance at his direction, before turning to stare ahead at the wall, his features blank as his mind racked for an answer.

After a moment or two, the fox eventually heaved a soft sigh. Hesitance was evident in his body language as he glanced around the room before looking at Botan. The ferry girl suddenly had a foreboding at the back of her mind, the impenetrable stare he was sending her causing a nauseating feeling to build up in her stomach. The unbearable, tense silence lasted for another five seconds, before he turned to fix his gaze back to Koenma.

"The worst-case scenario sees to Shuichi's… inevitable death." His head downcasted to the white fabric covering his feet as he sensed the various types of energies in the room spiking up at the news. "Without a body to control, his soul will lose its purpose and he will perish. Moreover, I am getting stronger- my power is returning to this form." He reached a hand up to stare at it, clenching it into a tight fist before he almost inaudibly uttered, "and Shuichi is losing his. The flower is making me drain bit by bit of his energy, and it will not be long before the last remnant of his life fades away."

"Are you shitting me?" Yusuke's petrified roar echoed in the walls of Koenma's office. He stepped forward to the silver-haired fox. Fear flared within him, and he pleaded for the lie. But, Youko shook his head, telling him that there was none. "N-no way…" he murmured, before the trepidation lost its effect, taking its place was pure, blinding wrath at whomever had subjected his dear friend to such a state. "I'm not gonna let Kurama die! I'm gonna find the bastard who did this to him and settle this once and for all!" he yelled, his footsteps loud and thumping as he made his way for the door.

"Yusuke!" Koenma's firm cry of his name halted his tracks, and Yusuke summoned enough composure to whip his head around and try not to glower at the prince.

"What?" he spat, anger fueling even more at the prospect of anyone trying to stop him from going to Kurama's rescue.

Koenma shook his head in slight disapproval. He turned to look at Kuwabara and Hiei, the former less calmer than the latter, though he did not try to jump into action. And Hiei, as aloof as he might come across, was visibly clenching his fists, droplets of blood trickling down his knuckles and bleeding on the white floor as he tried to keep his cool. All was more than panic-stricken at the mention of the possible death of their close friend and teammate, but none attempted to act recklessly even though their instincts desperately begged for it. And Botan… he did not even dare to spare even a fleeting glance at her, too scared to see the melancholy look that would have intruded her purple pools by now.

"What?" Yusuke repeated, louder this time, and Koenma flicked his gaze to the delinquent, his hazel orbs flashing as his own rage shone through.

"Do you really think by going to kill the culprit without even devising a plan first is a wise move? If they could have outwitted even Kurama by injecting the Yokuboshi into his blood without alerting his heightened senses, then what could _you_ afford to accomplish?" Koenma's voice rose up a notch, taking even Hiei by surprise at the others stared at him in shock.

Yusuke lurched back, startled, but was not easily dismissed. He glared, his teeth gritted as he screamed back his response. "Well, nothing's gonna change if we all just stand here and do nothing! And I'd rather risk my life for Kurama, before letting him die just like that, pacifier breath!"

"So, what do you intend to do? Rush into the culprit's hideout? Oh, wait, I forgot, you don't even know where it is, do you now?" Koenma's dark brown irises glared at Yusuke's equally menacing chocolate-laced-red orbs, trying to get the latter to give in. "You do not even have the faintest clue of their identity, much less know anything about their strength or their capabilities." His voice was calm, but firm, and his features were stern as he looked straight into Yusuke's eyes. "For all you know, you could lose your life again. And resurrection will not happen this third time around if death were to take away your life again."

"I told you-"

"Can't you even think of how Kurama might feel? Supposing if you were to sacrifice yourself for his sake, and he were to live, would he be pleased? No, he would be devastated. Because he would know that you had done it for _him_." Koenma shook his head, collecting himself as he saw the rage disappearing from Yusuke's physiognomy, replaced with surprised revelation. His voice was softer now, almost like a hushed whisper in the nonexistent wind, as the words finally left him, "Sacrificing is easy enough. Throwing your life away is unacceptable. Being sacrificed for while knowing you're the cause of it is unbearable pain. You do not even know how much it hurts. Look at everyone here. Take a long, deep stare on their faces. Are they mad? Yes, absolutely. But are they jumping for suicide just like that? No, they certainly are not. I know how you feel, Yusuke, but please understand, this is no ordinary foe. Risking yourlife for Kurama's, is not only selfish, but foolish. It will not only bring pain to yourself, to him, but also to those around you. How do you think Keiko- or even your mother- the people here would feel if you were to die again? You will be breaking their hearts, Yusuke, and not just for the first time."

Botan shook her head, attempting to mask her own sorrow and fear as she took light yet heavy footsteps towards her close friend. "Yusuke…" she whispered, a sigh escaping her lips. "I know, I understand how hard it must be. I, myself, am scared for Kurama. I don't want to lose him either. But… Koenma's right. You can't afford to throw your life away just like that. Think about those people who love you." She tapped on Yusuke's shoulder, patting softly as the boy bit on his lower lip, tears springing to his eyes. She tried to stop her own from forming as she wrapped an arm around the detective's, and pulled him back to their friends.

"Besides," she murmured, trying hard to curl her mouth upwards into a reassuring smile, "Youko will deal with him. With the guy who did this to Kurama."

"Youko?" Yusuke echoed, blinking away his tears before wiping the remnants of the salty liquid's tracks from his visage. He turned to look at Youko, who gave him an awkward, but genuine smile. "You know who it is?" But that was a stupid question, he knew, because if Kurama knew, why wouldn't his demon side be aware of it as well?

"Yes. He's… an old friend of mine," Youko mumbled his response, before shaking his head. "So I must discourage you from taking part in this battle. It is Shuichi's, and mine, alone. I will not have anyone involve themselves in this matter, especially not those who Shuichi deem important."

"Are you sure?" Kuwabara asked, concern filling his small, black irises. "I mean, are you strong enough-"

"Boy." Youko's grunt cut off his doubtful statement, the smothering, lustrous gold pinning a deadpanned stare on his form serving to silence even a syllable as the carrot-top clamped his mouth shut. "I will have you know that in this form, I am stronger, thus I have a better chance at winning. None of you need to help me- like I said, this is my fight and mine alone. Try and land a finger on this war and I _will_ have you fed to my Ojigi plants."

"Well," Hiei's flat voice was his response, "that's reassuring. Thank you for the words of motivation."

"You're welcome," Youko replied with equal sarcasm dripping in his voice, though a bemused smirk lingered evidently at the corners of his lips.

"I suppose you have a plan?" Koenma inquired with a serious tone, seizing the fox attention as he diverted his attention once again to the Reikai ruler in toddler form. Gold orbs glimmered, a glint of a sharp fang peeking from his grin, and Youko's fox ears seemed to twitch.

"Trust me," Youko's rich, smooth voice spoke, "you'll be more than glad for my assistance in this case."

* * *

"Are you alright?"

Botan blinked, the clouded purple shade of her eyes turning to their original amethyst hue as she snapped out a trance. Her gaze now focused on the fox demon staring at her worriedly beside her as she spun her head to the side. A smile; a tender, genuine smile reached her lips, then she cupped a hand on his cheek. "Yes," she whispered, "but not at the same time."

He leaned into her touch, before flicking his fluttered close eyelids open again. A sigh was expelled through his pale, slightly parted lips. "You're concerned, aren't you?"

"It'd be weird if I wasn't," she chortled her reply, before smiling once more as she felt him nuzzle the tip of his nose against the skin of her smooth palm when he tilted his head slightly to smell her. "But I trust you. I know you can do this. But, I worry, about you, too, you know."

Delicate silver eyebrows quirked up to disappear into equally silver bangs as the fox studied her with an odd expression stuck on his face. "Me?" he echoed, tone in slight disbelief. But, she could tell it was not at her, and more like he was worried that he might have been hearing things.

She nodded her head, features gentle but stern. "Of course. I told you before, didn't I? That you and Kurama both belong to me."

"Which means…"

"That I love you as well," she finished for him, a laugh erupting from her throat at the child-like joy reflected in his usually cold gold orbs. Setting her amusement aside, she reached her other hand up to touch his other cheek, watching with a long, hard look as the fox blinked at the gesture. "And that I want you to be careful. I don't wish to lose you as well. Neither of you." She leaned in, touching their foreheads together as a soft, almost contented sigh left her at the feel of his warmth sapping into her skin. "Promise me that you'll take great care of yourself, that you'll win. No matter what. And come back. Come back to me. Here, just like this," she murmured, bringing a finger to trace his plump, lower lip before looking straight into his eyes. "Promise."

His eyes softened, and he nodded, firmly, affirmatively. His lips pulling upwards into a smile; a warm, deep-promised smile. "I promise," he whispered, before claiming her lips with his in a chaste, brief kiss. He pulled apart to gaze into her beautiful pools of amethysts, the pretty, wide irises watering with tears before he leaned in to give her another kiss. Then another, and another, and another, until he felt her succumb to him, her tears salty on his tongue as he continued to possess her mouth. Love and lust swelled in his heart then, and he drove his tongue into her cavern, reveling in her breathless gasp as he pushed her gently down to the bed.

Botan bit back a sob as she tilted her head back to grant him better access in nipping at her pulse point. His hands fumbled, hasty, and his hips rocked against hers. She tried to control her shaking as he peeled one after another of the articles of clothing clad on her skin before discarding them to the floor and moving up to kiss her again, silencing her soft weeping.

Youko was gentle, not at all like himself as he took her again and again that night, making love to her as if she were a fragile thing that he feared would break easily with one, brute touch. And she could feel the affection practically radiating off of him with every roll of his hips, every desperate whisper of her name, and his words of reassurance that everything would be alright.

So she had clung to him, held on to him like dear life itself as his mouth continued to form out sentences that lulled her to a feeding, growing hope that everything, indeed, would end well.

Then, as she was softly brushing his bangs from his eyes as he slept soon after the lovemaking, her mind began to slowly drift into the land of dreams. And in that land of dreams, as strange and impossible as it was, she dreamt of herself, lying between Youko and Kurama with their locks of blue, red, and silver mixed together to form an odd, unique, but pisturesque sequence of colours.

A smile tugged at her lips in her sleep, as she wished; wished that this dream wouldn't fade away like the others even if she were to awake.

And it hadn't, she realized, as she got up and gathered her clothes before leaving the next morning.


	15. Chapter 15

**Euphoria**

 **Summary:** She could see the desire pooling in his emerald orbs as he looked straight into her eyes and in a voice, low and husky, said simply, "I want you."

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

 **Chapter 15**

Long, thick black eyelashes shook before slowly fluttering open. Golden orbs blinked, the blurriness in his vision clearing away before the form of a fox demon turned on the bed. This, however, had not a good effect on him as the sunlight creeping through the silky, white curtains of the hospital room managed to blind his eyes. A growl rumbled from the back of his throat, then he whipped to his right side, throwing a pale, strong arm over his eyes as his body faced the boring old wall.

After his irritation of nearly getting blinded by the sun gradually dissipated, the gears in his head finally clicked and he realized: mornings. It was morning. How long had it been since he'd been allowed the pleasure to gaze on as night left and the sun rose up the horizon?

Perhaps… this freedom wasn't as bad as he thought- No, he couldn't afford to think that. Even though he wished nothing more but to remain in this form and return to his homeland, he knew better. He had promised her. _Botan_. That he would see to it that this matter would be solved, and that Shuichi would survive through this whole ordeal because _he_ , Youko, would come to his rescue. He had promised, and he was a man of his word. Especially to a woman he loved and cared for deeply so.

He sighed as another line of thought manifested itself in his head. She was gone. Left the very moment dawn had arrived, way before he had awakened. Despite all the loving confessions and the admittance of their feelings for each other, Botan was defiant in her attempts at not staying in the mornings, flying off before he could even stop her. Leaving him with nothing but a feeling of loss as he, once again, just like Shuichi had done so many times before, grabbed onto the sheets where she once laid, bringing them to his nose as he took a whiff of the scent of her still remaining on the covers. Clinging to them in a desperate way that would have made his old self scorn her very being. But not now. He was no longer the same person as he once was. Now, he only craved for her presence, yearned for her warmth, ached to feel her hands on him and longed to see that wide grin on her face.

But alas, that would have to wait until this whole problem was gone and done with. Botan had swore, after all, that their relationship would not progress anymore than this until that moment arrived- the reason she never failed to escape every morning being that she did not want to disturb his line of focus in solving this mission. He did not care, did not mind, but knew better than to insist her to stay. She was adamant, and he would do nothing to change her mind. It didn't mean she left him, after all- not for good, at least. She would return tonight, or during sunset if she was feeling especially needy, and he would have to wait. Patiently. Just like he always did. Just like Shuichi did.

His tail twitched before relaxing behind him as he threw his legs over the bed. A knock at the window captured his attention and he took ahold of his white pants, sliding them on without any fumbling or stumbling as he sauntered up to the 7 ft tall windowpane all the while. Fingers finding the windowsill, he unlocked it before gliding it upwards to allow the average-sized pink flower, with it purple inner petals slimy as it opened them to enter. It slithered from the wall, down to the floor, and up again to the headboard of his bed. It was at this moment did he finally notice the small bottle it was clenching between its yellow, pointed, acid-dripping teeth. Not needing any words to give his order, the plant quickly understood and hurried its way to him, putting the tiny glass into his open, outstretched palm before hovering about just an inch away from him.

Youko told the flower to go away and tend to guarding his door with his other vines as he flipped the lid of the bottle open and made his way back to the bed. He flopped down to the mattress, his hips bouncing against the soft, comfortable material as he continued to study the red-orange seeds filling up the bottle. A smirk grazed his lips, his gold irises turning bloodlusting as he inhaled the scent of the object he had managed to lie his hands on.

Perfect. This should do the trick. Kageyama wouldn't even know what hit him.

Kurama woke up to the blinding darkness.

At first, he had no clue as to his whereabouts- where was he? Why was it so gloomy and dark here? So cold, so… quiet. Then it hit him. This- he'd felt this before. He _knew_ this. This was the inside of his mind. His consciousness. The consciousness he shared with Youko. He'd drifted a few times into this place, when Youko had taken full control. It was the sort of place that kept them locked up inside, dormant whilst the other part of them remained in charge. He should have been used to this by now. But he wasn't. _Youko_ was the one usually trapped here. _He_ was the one normally free. _Youko_ was used to this. But not _him_.

The darkness bothered him; it called out to him, threatened to eat him up, swallow him down whole and he inhaled a shaky intake of breath to retain his composure- and his sanity while he was at it. With trembling legs, he placed his palms flat on his knees as he fought to push himself from the lying position he was in on the equally dim floor. In fact, he wasn't even sure if there was even a floor. No. He merely floated as he walked. It baffled him at first, but he had learned not to think too much of it as he gathered his tattered pride and collected himself. Braving himself as he flew mindlessly across the darkness.

"Youko?" he called out, acutely aware of the strain in his voice as his words escaped him in a hoarse, ragged whisper. He gulped down a lump in his throat and went about calling the demon's name again and again. But no response. Merely silence. He blinked. What the _hell_ was going _on_?

A nagging voice at the back of his mind brought a bad foreboding feeling to overtake his senses. Reaching a hand up and trailing it into his sweat-matted red hair, he pulled out a single crimson, thorny rose. Concentrating on his demon energy, he tried to turn it into a whip. He closed his eyes, feeling the flickers of his energy gathering at the center of the rose before… it exploded in his hands, reduced into nothing but a pile of ashes as it dropped to the nonexisted floor.

A startled gasp escaped him and he quickly staggered back from the destroyed rose, his eyes wide in alarm. No… Why? He couldn't even summon enough energy to create a Rose Whip, for god's sake! Had his strength deteriorated greatly so? If it was- no, that wasn't it. It wasn't deteriorating. It was being _drained_.

This, he realized, as he took a few, quivering steps back before slumping down on the floor on his butt. Uneven breaths left him through his widely parted lips, his teeth gritted against each other as he stubbornly pulled out another rose. And stubbornly tried to manifest it into his trademark weapon. Again and again. But his efforts were fruitless each time.

"Damn it!" he cursed savagely before throwing the stem of another blown up rose to his feet. What was happening to him? Why was it- Of course! The Yokuboshi! It was causing this. From Youko's sudden newfound control, and his rapid lost of demon energy. It was trying to let Youko live, trying to let _him_ die.

 _I won't let it_. His will-filled mind manifested the thought. His pools of green determined as he took in a deep breath and attempted, once more, to muster up his aura as he fished out a red rose from his fiery crimson locks.

Youko would undoubtedly fight from the outside, therefore so would he, from the inside.

"Are you okay, Botan-chan?!"

Hinageshi's loud, concerned cry reverberated through the walls of the shared room of the red-haired girl and a certain bluenette ferry guide located at the second floor of the ferry girls' headquarters. With a runny nose, and vomit threatening to come up her throat, Botan managed to move her sore muscles enough so that she could turn around in the sheets entangled around her warm, sweaty figure to face the other grim reaper. Mustering up her strength- though not without coughing once or twice before she did- Botan offered Hinageshi a weak, yet reassuring smile.

"I'm," A cough, "alright, Hinageshi. Don't worry."

Hinageshi's worried expression disappeared to give way to a firm stare. She cupped a hand on Botan's forehead, a startled gasp involuntarily escaping her lips. "No, you're not! You have a very high fever!"

"This is nothing," Botan assured her, though her breathing was ragged, her face drained of any colour, and it was a dead give away that she was anything but fine. "I can handle it." She tried to sit up from the bed, ignoring the aching muscles on her elbows and legs as she managed to prop up nearly half of her torso before Hinageshi promptly pushed her down to the bed again.

"Nuh-uh! You're going to have to take a rest, I'll let Koenma-sama know that you're feeling a bit under the weather. Surely he will understand," Hinageshi's stern voice stated, leaving no room for arguments as she stood up from the edge of the bed and crossed her arms over her chest.

Botan was not easily dismissed. "But…" she attempted to protest, before Hinageshi's shaking head as a firm no quickly cut her short.

"No buts. You _will_ stay on this bed, and you _will_ rest. And that's final." Hinageshi bent down a little to pull the covers up to Botan's chin. "It's time you stop pushing yourself too much. Would you like me to inform Youko-san about this?"

That caused panic to alarm Botan's weakened senses. "No, no, no." A cough interrupted her for a moment, and she felt Hinageshi's hand on her back, patting in a soothing manner. "D-don't tell him. He'll worry. H-he already has too much in his hands. He needs to focus on the case."

"But, he has the right to know, you know? Seeing as you're his…" A flush appeared on Hinageshi's cheeks and Botan eyed with amusement-filled orbs as the petite girl squirmed a bit before proceeding, "mate, and all."

"No need to tell him, Hinageshi," Botan firmly replied, refusing to back out that easily, "He doesn't have to be concerned over me."

"But…" Hinageshi pursed her lips as the pink tinge on her cheeks faded away at Botan's hard-headedness, "what if he comes looking for you? I mean, you are his- er, partner in this case, right? There's no doubt that he'll want to know where you are, seeing as he's going to need you for… ahem, his climax for the day. Besides, don't you think he'll worry anyway if he notices you're not anywhere to be seen?"

"It's fine. This fever will no doubt vanish before then. You know reigens don't have a long period of time to be sick, right? I'll be as healthy as I was before in a couple of hours. That's plenty of time before he starts looking for me," Botan made her rebuttal, her smart comeback causing the smaller girl to tug her bottom lip into a pout before nodding in affirmative, finally giving in. Botan smiled. "Never mind me. Aren't you supposed to be ferrying that one soul Koenma assigned you for last night? This is probably about the time of his death. You should hurry on along."

Hinageshi nodded once more, though this time her body language screamed of her own reluctance to leave the sick ferry girl alone. She stood up anyway, however, knowing that her duties had to come in first priority. She was a ferry girl, after all; she couldn't leave the souls assigned to her to their own devices. Never mind Koenma's burning rage if she did, she didn't like the idea of abandoning her job- she liked doing this, even though she did make a lot of mistakes on the first few days of being a grim reaper. In which Botan had helped her out a lot before. She still hadn't repaid her kindness, and she had no doubt that it would be a long time before she could even repay for the endless good deeds Botan had done for her. All those long hours of getting yelled at by Koenma in her place didn't even suffice to be deemed number one in the long list of kindness Botan had showered her with.

With those thoughts playing like a broken record in the deep recesses of her mind, Hinageshi finally excused herself and slipped out through the door. Promising herself that she would return as soon as possible to take care of Botan all the while.

 **A/N:** Sorry to those who got confused with the scene breaks. Writers usually use horizontal lines to indicate a different scene... but for some reason, I can't use that on the app. So, until I can access the desktop version of my account, I'm afraid you're gonna have to bear with me for a while. Again, sincerest apologies from me and... see you on my next update :)


	16. Chapter 16

**Euphoria**

 **Summary:** She could see the desire pooling in his emerald orbs as he looked straight into her eyes and in a voice, low and husky, said simply, "I want you."

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

 **Chapter 16**

Botan turned and twisted on the bed, brows furrowed in frustration as she massaged her temples with both hands. The headache she was having was making her feel as if her head would split open. Not to mention the numbing pain of her muscles around her body, she felt warm all over, the walls of her throat threatening to let out the bile she had been attempting to hold back for the past minutes. She hated fevers, and though she knew this sickness would no doubt fade in another hour or so, she felt as if that would take forever. And… it didn't help that she needed to go to the bathroom.

After a moment or two of full contemplation, Botan eventually worked up the strength to prop herself up on her two elbows, flinching and releasing a sigh of relief as she managed to sit up on the bed. Throwing her shaky legs over the bed, Botan placed her palms flat on her knees as she ignored the ache of her trembling form and succeeded to stand up on her two feet, the cold floor a direct constrast to the heat surrounding her petite figure. With a hand leaned against the wall, Botan slowly sauntered to the bathroom, despite knowing that her legs were about ready to give way. She slid open the door, slipping into the pure white, sparkly clean toilet before dropping her elbows on the sink as a dizzying, spinning torment began to envelop the back of her head. Distantly, she caught the sound of a girl's voice- probably from one of her fellow coworkers- reverberating from outside her bedroom, informing her of the lunch that was brought for her. Botan shouted, her voice hoarse, for the girl to put it outside the door, before she soon heard footsteps walking away, the sound subsiding before gradually dissipating into thin air.

She breathed out a shaky sigh, before opening the faucet and watching as water came cascading out like a rapid waterfall. She began to wash her hands, splashing the cold liquid over her face before turning off the faucet, stopping just as she could no longer twist it anymore. All of a sudden, she felt no strength to walk, and slumped down to the icy floor, her head thrown back against the wall as she decided that perhaps she should stay here for a while until she recovered her stamina.

Locks of blue hair matted to her face as the thin layer of sweat covering her body thickened, her half-lidded, cloudy purple orbs turning to study the window hovering just above the bathtub as she blinked. That was… strange. She could have sworn she saw something. Like a shadow, before it was reduced to a simple black blur. But, the sight was gone as swiftly as it came, leaving her to wonder if she hadn't just imagined the whole thing. However, the instant she shrugged it off as her eyes playing tricks on her, she soon caught the distinct sound of a click, like a door unlocking. For a moment, she sat there, staring at the sliding door of the bathroom with a dazed look on her countenance, before the alarming revelation hit her that she wasn't hallucinating. She tried to get up, but the moment she succeeded, the door to her bedroom was pushed open, followed by the sound of calm, yet menacing footsteps entering and drumming against the floor. Panic overtook her, trepidation striking the middle of her chest as she tried to sense the new energy pattern spreading in her room, her fear increasing as the gears in her head clicked and the realization struck her that it was unfamiliar. But what made her blood run cold was the touch of malice in the aura, mingling with a tinge of bloodlust, causing her to summon a newfound strength as she quickly ran for the door, trying to get it to clamp shut.

But the moment she had managed to close it until only a small crack remained, fingers- _clawed_ fingers- slammed against the side of the door, pushing the material open in one, brute and swift motion.

Botan expelled a startled cry, her butt colliding against the floor as she felled under the brute force. Her surprise died down soon after though, and she grabbed a nearby broken pipe, promptly throwing it at the intruder's face. She failed to cause any damage however, as he quickly dodged the small attack. She roared out savage curses as the unknown man clutched ahold of her upper arm, tugging her up almost in a harsh manner. Botan felt a flaming wrath burning at her sides, igniting her soul with a deep loathing she didn't think she could harbor.

"If you think you're gonna get away with this, you're dead wrong! Youko—"

The intruder's free arm shot up, the back of his hand slapping against her cheek and silencing her loud scream for help. Botan flinched as her head was thrown to the side, shock dawning on her features before rage took its place and overwhelmed her. Ignoring the pain traveling from her cheek to the back of her left eye, Botan extended her own fist up in the air to deliver a strong punch at the side of the intruder's face. Although, her plans were halted immediately as he placed a palm over her mouth to silence her heated words, before promptly slamming her against the tiled wall. Blood dripped through her gritted teeth as the force of the impact managed to drive her back so hard against the wall that a big crater was formed. Botan slumped to the floor as he released her, coughing all puddles of blood onto the pure white floor. She glared up at the intruder as she managed to collect herself and catch her breath.

"Who do you think you are, coming in here and—" Botan cut off her own words as a look of recognition abruptly crossed her pools of amethyst. "Wait, are you the one who injected the Yokuboshi into Kurama's blood? The one responsible for all this?" That would make sense, that would explain why this guy would come looking for her. But-but didn't Kurama- Youko- told her that neither wanted her part of this? If so, why was he here?

Turqoise irises flashed at her, before the mouth of the intruder curved upwards into a feral grin. He bent down into a crouching position in front of her, one hand reaching to tilt her pointed chin up with two fingers. His rich, smooth voice echoed in the walls of the bathroom as he spoke. "Now, now, I'm not exactly the main evil mastermind behind all this," he told her, chuckling as she tugged her chin out of his grasp, "but I can't say that I'm not at least partially involved."

"What does that mean?" Botan asked with a growl rumbling from the back of her throat as her eyes shot daggers at him. She wiped away the trail of blood that trickled down her chin, slapping his hand away as it tried to swipe it off of her before she did.

"My name is Ruki," the man uttered, eyeing her in silent amusement as she stared him down. "And it means what it means. I supplied the Yokuboshi, yes, but it is not I who wanted to exact revenge on that blasted fox. I am merely… a friend. Yes, a good friend helping his peer who is in need of grave assistance."

"So, why did you come here? I thought you and your friend wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone who has no idea of your identities? Or did you come here on purpose, to show your face to me so that you would have a reason to rip my throat out?" Botan continued to throw at him, never taking her eyes off of his as she tried to devise a plan to somehow escape and inform Youko that one of the perpetrators behind everything up until now was here, in her room. But, even if she did manage to run, how would she know if this guy hadn't fled before Youko would arrive? Finding Youko would take some time; she didn't even have a clue as to where he was- and that was only _if_ she managed to run and hide away from Ruki long enough to look for him- No, she would worry about Youko's whereabouts later. For now, she needed to flee. She needed to get out of here. She was in the presence of an enemy, and one who was no doubt far stronger than her, she realized as she took another moment to sense his demon energy. He was no doubt masking it just in case he would alert the others of his intrusion, but even so his strength felt as if it was overwhelming her. She had to leave, someway or another. Before this guy attempted to do anything to her. Or worse… Youko. The communication mirror- shit, it was on her nightstand. She wouldn't be able to run for it with Ruki crouching merely a few inches from her-

Her thoughts were promptly chased out of the window as she felt cold, clawed fingers running up and down her left cheek, just at the spot where Ruki had strike her. A shiver of fear racked down her spine, the touch causing goosebumps to appear on her skin as she blinked at the demon, before shooting a vehement glare. She flinched away from his hand, but this did not discourage him as he proceeded to run the tip of his thumb over the area beneath her plump lips. She trembled, though her body was on full guard, ready to attack if he were to do her any harm. But, that wasn't what she was supposed to be concerned about, it soon hit her, as she caught on to the hungry gaze he was giving her. She had seen this look on men before; had experienced the way he was eyeing her form up and down, and as the terrifying revelation of what his true intentions were, it brought a nauseating feeling to appear at the core of her stomach. His lust further increased her fear, though she was more than unwilling to let how much it bothered her show on the surface as she glowered at Ruki.

"I love your smooth skin," Ruki remarked with a smirk as he halted his ticklish ministrations and let his hand drop to his thigh. He observed her, the smirk growing on his lips as he caught a whiff of her trepidation, the scent intoxicating in the air surrounding them. "And no, I did not come here to kill you. That would be a waste. Instead, I am here…" Botan tried to scoot away as he inched closer towards her, but the hole in the wall only allowed her so much distance before he tilted his head to the side and placed his lips near her ear, "to abduct you and stake my claim on you."

"I'm Kurama's and Youko's mate," Botan growled as she turned her head away when he tried to kiss her on the lips. "You can't stake your claim on me, it's against Makai's rules, as scarce as those laws may be in that realm." And though she knew demons were not up to obliging to rules, she had an irking feeling that he wouldn't do anything to land himself in trouble if word about his treachery were to spread in Makai.

"Ah, of course," he chuckled, "you have a vast amount of information regarding our world, don't you now, ferry girl? Although that's hardly a surprise, considering you're mated with one of them." His eyes flashed at her as his chuckles subsided, reduced into a taunting grin as he clutched a fistful of her hair, tugging her head back to study the bite mark still visible on her pearl white skin. "But, you have no need to worry, I assure you, because as soon as my comrade puts the end for the legendary Youko Kurama, that claim he has on you will soon vanish. And when that day comes, brace yourself for I will definitely take you as my own. In fact," His grin took on a more cryptic approach as he inched his lips closer to hers, "by the time he's going to realize a strong demon energy is located inside _your_ room, you'd be gone before he'd even come to your rescue."

Botan's eyes widened in alarm at his words, and before he could plant a kiss on her, she reached a hand up to slap him in the face. The impact was followed by the loud sound of skin smacking against skin as she got to her feet and tried to escape through the bathroom's door. However, she had forgotten about his hold on her hair, and before she could even take a step, she was pulled roughly down to the floor, a cry leaving her lips as she felt her back colliding against the cold surface. She winced, before glaring up at the form of Ruki towering over her. He grinned, and before she could attempt to flee again, he tugged her head up to slam his lips against hers, silencing her muffled protests.

Botan pushed, hit her fists against his chest, but her efforts resulted to come up fruitless. Racking her brain for something else, an idea finally flashed in her head, and without a moment of hesitation, her teeth found the plump skin of Ruki's lower lip, biting with her utmost strength. The demon immediately pulled away, cursing at her before striking her once more at the cheek. Botan felled, but her eyes were clouded into a dark purple as a mist surrounded her, a strange smell intruding her nostrils as she felt her body becoming paralyzed. Ruki wiped away the blood from his lips, shooting her a cold glare before smirking as he watched her eyelids flutter close.

Botan tried to stay awake, though the mist was proven to be too omnipotent, and before long, her head bumped against the floor, her eyes closing as she felt her consciousness being slowly but gradually eaten up by the darkness.

"Youko?! What's wrong?" Yusuke asked worriedly as he eyed the fox demon abruptly stood up from his seat. The group had been discussing before Youko suddenly started acting strange, his face draining of any colour as he pushed himself off the chair, the material screeching before falling to the floor under his brute force.

"Hey, Youko," Yusuke went on as he earned no response in return. His brows furrowed as Youko's physiognomy didn't change; his gold orbs still wide as his lips pressed tightly together. He turned to Kuwabara and Hiei, exchanging glances with the other two before peering at the silver-haired demon once more. "Youko…" he called again, but before he could utter more words, Youko was gone in a black blur, leaving in his wake only the sound of the door slamming against the wall.

Brown eyes blinked, before worry filled them as Yusuke's frown deepened. He whirled his head to Hiei. "What just happened?"

Youko hurried to Botan's room, ignoring the startled cries from ferry girls as he expertly dodged and jumped over them. Sweat beaded on his forehead, trickling down to his cheek and chin as his heart raced with a pace that matched his lightning speed. As his steps halted and came to a stop in front of a bright yellow door, he placed a fist on the doorknob, his senses further alarmed as he realized it was unlocked, fully open, allowing any inruders to come in.

He envisaged Botan's face, that jovial smile curled at the corners of her pink, honey-dew lips and her warmth enveloping him as she greeted him with a welcoming call of his name. But as he pushed the door open, he found, instead, an empty bed, and the bone-chilling breeze coming from the opened window. The curtains flew, and he promptly ran for the bathroom door. "Botan?" He slid it open, hoping against the despair creeping up his skin that she would somewhat be there.

But, there was no one. Not even a hint of her shadow. Nor her gentle smile. Not even the sense of her energy pattern.

She was gone.


End file.
